Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Shiga

Hakuunkan in Omi-Hachiman, Shiga Prefecture, is a masterpiece of pseudo-Western architecture built in 1877 as the Hachiman-Higashi Elementary School, funded almost entirely by donations from prosperous Omi merchants. Registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, this distinctive building blends Western facades with Japanese karahafu gables and a drum tower. Today it serves as a tourist information center and gateway to exploring the historic lakeside city.

A 1929 registered property in Higashiomi, Shiga: a plain merchant-town front hiding a refined sukiya hall upstairs, with a curved coffered ceiling and bat-shaped windows.

The oldest of the estate's three registered buildings in Higashiomi, Shiga: a kura of about 1919, facing the road with board skirting below and corrugated iron above.

A 1929 registered property on the Fukada estate in Higashiomi, Shiga: a small wing for the bath and lavatory, yet with a corridor ceiling refined enough for a hanare.

Fujii Honke's main house began as a merchant home in Hino, rebuilt at this Aisho brewery around 1960. Its stepped roofline sets formal rooms apart from the work hall.

The Fujii Honke shoin is a single-story guest wing of three linked blocks. Rebuilt here at a right angle to the main house, it reflects a Taisho merchant family's taste.

The Fujii Honke chimney rises about eleven meters between two storehouses, its square brick shaft laid in English bond, red brick set against the white plastered walls.

This small building held Fujii Honke's testing and inspection rooms, where the finished sake was judged. Its plastered west front carries an insect-cage lattice window.

The Fujii Honke brewing storehouse stands by a stone-lined channel. Inside this earthen-walled hall, steamed rice, koji, starter and Suzuka water form the staged mash.

The Fujii Honke sake storehouse is the largest of the group at some 728 square meters. Its L-shaped plan holds the kettle room and links the small inspection rooms.

The Main Hall (Kannon-dō) of Myōkanji Temple in Konan City, Shiga Prefecture, is a registered tangible cultural property built in 1937 and designed by Fujiwara Yoshikazu, a lecturer at Kyoto Imperial University. This refined wooden hall faithfully recreates the medieval Zen architectural style with its three-bay square plan and hip-and-gable tiled roof. Founded by Madenokōji Fujifusa, a courtier of Emperor Go-Daigo who became the second patriarch of Myōshinji, the temple enshrines a Nanbokuchō-period Eleven-Faced Thousand-Armed Kannon statue.

Discover the bell tower of Myorakuji Temple in Kinomoto, Shiga Prefecture—a finely crafted Edo-period belfry registered as a national tangible cultural property. Explore its elegant carvings, historic post town setting, and nearby attractions along the Hokuriku Highway.

Shiga’s registered properties across designations, with featured heritage and travel notes.

The complete kokuhō catalogue — browse by prefecture, period, and category.

Nationwide jūyō bunkazai — architecture, sculpture, painting, crafts, and documents.