Taishō
大正Browse Japan’s cultural heritage from the Taishō period (1912 – 1926). Filter by prefecture, type, and keyword, with concise stories, maps, and travel tips.
A detached building of 1916 on a hill in Gamagori, Aichi. A room stepping out to the southeast carries snow-viewing screens over Mikawa Bay. Registered in 2022.
A martial arts hall of 1917 at Meiji Mura in Inuyama, Aichi, moved there from Kanazawa in 1970. A Western roof truss clears its floor of every column.
A timber auditorium of 1922 in Matsuyama, Ehime, built for a school run by the ministry. Its front carries a large porte-cochere of eight Tuscan columns.
A shrine hall of 1919 in Maniwa, Okayama, just 12 square metres. Its walls are laid in two layers, with round posts outside and square ones set within.
A large Taisho-period storehouse in Tome, Miyagi, fifteen bays long. Its roof frame imitates a Western truss, bolted and strapped together with iron straps.
Discover Myodoji Temple Main Hall in Kumamoto Prefecture—a stunning fusion of Gothic and Buddhist architecture. This Registered Tangible Cultural Property features pointed arch windows and Mansard roofing in a Jodo Shinshu temple.
Discover the Soka City History and Folklore Museum, housed in Saitama Prefecture's first reinforced concrete school building from 1926. This Nationally Registered Cultural Property showcases earthquake-resistant architecture born from the Great Kanto Earthquake and local history connected to Matsuo Basho's Oku no Hosomichi.
Discover Honkan Kosekikan, a registered tangible cultural property in Ginzan Onsen. Experience authentic Japanese hospitality in this 1914 Art Deco-style inn featuring unique black inkstone and white Taisho-era baths, all-inclusive dining, and nostalgic Taisho romance atmosphere.
Discover the Former Kubiki Railway Engine House at Kubikino Rail Park in Niigata Prefecture—a nationally registered cultural property preserving Japan's rare narrow-gauge railway history. Experience vintage locomotives, ride historic trains, and explore a miraculous railway collection saved from oblivion.
Discover the historic Osaka Nipponbashi Christian Church, a 1925 Gothic Revival masterpiece and Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Located near Kuromon Market and Den Den Town, this architectural treasure offers a peaceful spiritual retreat in bustling Osaka.
Discover Makita-gumi Headquarters, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Imizu City, Toyama. This elegant 1915 Renaissance-style brick building tells the story of Japan's Kitamae-bune shipping era and the modernization of Fushiki Port.
Discover Koriyama City Public Hall, a stunning Neo-Renaissance building designed by Japan's National Diet Building architect. Built in 1924, this Registered Tangible Cultural Property features elegant stained glass and Renaissance ceilings, symbolizing the pioneering spirit of Fukushima Prefecture.
Discover Kasamatsu Tunnel, a 362-meter brick-and-stone railway tunnel built in 1912 on the Watarase Keikoku Railway. A registered tangible cultural property and the longest original Ashio Railway tunnel, it can be experienced from scenic trolley trains winding through the Watarase Valley gorge.
The Former Saionji Family Okitsu Villa 'Zagyoso,' preserved at the Museum Meiji-mura in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, was the seaside retreat of Prince Saionji Kinmochi, Japan's last elder statesman. Designated as an Important Cultural Property in 2017, the complex includes the main house, guard station, attendants' waiting area, and gate—showcasing exquisite sukiya-style craftsmanship and the political history of modern Japan.
Discover the Former Nukata County Public Hall and Products Exhibition Hall in Okazaki, Aichi. Designated as an Important Cultural Property, these 1913 Renaissance-inspired Western-style buildings showcase Japan's early mastery of European architecture in a provincial setting.
The 1913 Church of St. Matthew at Toyohashi is a wooden Orthodox sanctuary attributed to Kawamura Izo, Aichi's oldest, named an Important Cultural Property in 2008.
Completed in 1922, this Nagoya courthouse is Japan's oldest surviving court of appeals. Free entry to its Neo-Baroque stairwell and restored 1922 conference room.
Granite gate pillars at Okazaki High School, Aichi, early Taisho. Western classical columns meet a Japanese rough stone finish, registered in 2017 and still in use.
Reinforced-concrete gate pillars raised around 1925 for a sericulture school in Nishio, Aichi. Their Secession-style geometry won national registration in 2017.
Kariya High School's 1923 gate in Aichi, its reinforced-concrete posts scored to mimic stone in the Secession style, registered as a cultural property in 2017.