Important Cultural Property of Shiga

Dated 1608 by ink on the mallet used at its raising, this skirted, cypress-bark bell tower at Chomeiji in Omihachiman, Shiga, has 2 bays east and 3 west.

Raised in 1524 after a fire, the cypress-bark main hall of Chomeiji in Omihachiman, Shiga, keeps traces of its first Tendai plan. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., free.

The main hall of Chiyo Shrine in Hikone, Shiga, built in 1638 in the early Edo period, is a three-bay nagare-style shrine hall roofed in cypress bark.

A small mid-Muromachi hall right of the West Main Hall at Namura Shrine, Ryuo, Shiga, praised for its fine detailing and listed in 1971 with the storehouse.

A small mid-Muromachi hall left of the West Main Hall at Namura Shrine, Ryuo, Shiga, listed in 1904, 67 years before its twin, the Juzenji shrine; seen over a fence.

A 1536 store for portable shrines just inside the gate of Namura Shrine, Ryuo, Shiga, called an unusual survival by the Agency; 4 by 2 bays, gabled, listed in 1971.

A mid-Muromachi one-bay hall in woods east of Namura Shrine, Ryuo, Shiga, listed in 1924. Said to be the shrine's first site, it has no fence and sits among mounds.

Namura Shrine's thatched two-storey gate in Ryuo, Shiga, dated to 1522 and listed in 1904, opens the west precinct and is the only thatched building on the grounds.

The main hall of Hyakusaiji, a Koto Sanzan temple in Higashiomi, Shiga, rebuilt in 1650 after the temple was burned, gives a medieval form early modern clarity.

The main hall of Hiyoshi Shrine in Yasu, Shiga, from the late Kamakura period, is a small one-bay nagare-style hall roofed in cypress bark, a rare medieval shrine.

Two 1595 halls near the summit above Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu. The worship hall is cantilevered over a cliff and joined at the rear to the sanctuary behind it.

Two 1598 halls at Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu. The last of the shrine's three Hiyoshi-zukuri sanctuaries, it was set down over bedrock left exposed beneath the floor.

Two summit halls above Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu, dated 1599. Nearly a twin of neighbouring Ushio Shrine, it differs in frontage, entrance and how the gable is built.

Two 1595 halls at Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu. The sanctuary of the consort deity carries lavish metal fittings; its worship hall is the only latticed one here.

Two Momoyama halls at Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu. The sanctuary repeats a neighbouring design with its metalwork stripped back; the worship hall has no walls at all.

A 1586 tower gate at Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu, listed in 1917. Four carved monkeys prop the eaves, and three more play in pine branches on the upper storey.

A Momoyama gate at Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu, dated only to a twenty-year span. Step through and the sanctuary is not ahead of you but turned aside from the path.

Three stone beam bridges over the Omiya River at Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu, listed together in 1917. Each translates the joinery of a timber bridge into cut stone.

An Edo-period branch shrine of Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu, built 1634. Worship hall, chamber and sanctuary link into an H-shaped plan under black lacquer and colour.

The main hall of Fudoji, a Tendai mountain temple above Otsu, Shiga, is built out over the slope: an early Muromachi inner hall with a worship hall added in 1771.