Important Cultural Property of Shiga

An Important Cultural Property in Otsu, this 1670 shoin of Otsu Betsuin wraps in a U shape around a courtyard. A rare niche, hearth and shelf set its plan apart.

Ōtsu Betsuin Main Hall, Shiga, rebuilt in 1649, anchors a Higashi Hongan-ji branch founded in 1600 by the priest Kyonyo. An early-Edo Important Cultural Property.

Ono Shrine's tower gate in Ritto, Shiga is the oldest surviving romon at any shrine or temple in the prefecture, an early-Kamakura building in late Heian style.

Discover the Main Hall of Ozu Shrine in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture—a nationally designated Important Cultural Property dating from the late Muromachi period. Explore its elegant cypress-bark roof, one of Japan's three great deity statues, and the vibrant Naginata Festival held every May 5.

Oda Shrine's two-story Romon Gate in Omihachiman, Shiga, is a 14th-century Important Cultural Property, its cypress-bark roof and Muromachi form intact.

Standing in the grounds of Zenryū-ji and Inshū-ji temples in Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture, the Kakesho Hōtō is a 3.83-metre stone pagoda carved in the late Kamakura period (1275–1332) and designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1925. With its base, cylindrical body, square roof and tall finial all beautifully preserved, and with striking peacock reliefs carved on the sides of its base, it is consistently ranked among the finest stone hōtō of the Ōmi region. The site also marks the ground where the Kanamori Gassen of 1466—the first ikkō-ikki in Japanese history—took place, making the pagoda both an artistic masterpiece and a silent witness to a pivotal moment in medieval Japanese religion.

Kannonji Amida Hall in Kusatsu, Shiga, is an early Muromachi hall three bays square, roofed in cypress bark. Listed in 1901; said to have come from Kyoto in 1553.

Kannonji Shoin in Kusatsu, Shiga, is an early Edo building 11.9 metres wide with a shingled roof. Listed in 1907; said to be moved from a shogunal palace in 1685.

Completed in 1764 at Kondo in Higashiomi, Guzeiji's main hall is a mature eighteenth-century Shinshu hall, designated in 1987 with four construction documents.

The former main sanctuary of Kora Shrine at Amago in Shiga, this one-bay hall of 1634 was set aside in 1883 and preserved by that demotion; designated in 1915.

A granite five-storied pagoda of 1246 stands unattended beside Route 477 in Omihachiman, Shiga. Its dated inscription anchors the chronology of Omi stone carving.

Saikyo-ji's guest hall in Otsu is said to have come from Hideyoshi's Fushimi Castle. Four rooms carry Kano school panels, and its interior first opened in 2026.

Built in 1739 almost entirely of zelkova, the main hall of Saikyo-ji in Otsu is a rare large Edo hall in Shiga. Monkeys perch on its eaves; a Heian Amida sits in it.

Saitoku-ji's main hall, built in 1713 north of Lake Biwa, keeps a thatched roof and a gable-end entrance at 16.5 metres wide. Akao was an Azai retainer seat.

A small stone pagoda in the precinct of Saimyoji in Moriyama, Shiga, credited by tradition to regent Hojo Tokiyori. Now leaning, it is viewed from a few paces back.

The main hall of Jishu Shrine in Katsuragawa, Otsu, is the only three-bay Kasuga-style shrine in Shiga. Rebuilt in 1502, it guards the Tendai temple of Myoo-in.

Shina Shrine's main hall in Kusatsu, built in 1298, keeps a ridgepole inscription naming its carpenter. A wind-god hall with Kamakura brackets and white plaster.

Once Zeze Castle's North Great Gate on Lake Biwa, this korai-mon was rebuilt at Shinozu Shrine, Otsu, in 1872. Its tiles still carry the Honda hollyhock crest.

An unsigned granite hokyointo at Jakushoji in Hino, Shiga, dated to the late Kamakura period by its upright corner ornaments, carved Buddhas and lotus base.

Discover the Main Hall of Shirahige Shrine in Takashima, Shiga — an Important Cultural Property built in 1603 by Toyotomi Hideyori. Explore Momoyama-era architecture, the iconic floating torii gate on Lake Biwa, and over 2,000 years of sacred history.