Edo

Linked to the main hall by a covered corridor, this mid-1640s hall at Kawaraya-ji is thought to be its former main hall, marked by the raigō pillars still at its altar.

Before the main hall, this mid-1640s bell tower at Kawaraya-ji rises on sixteen-faceted posts splayed outward for strength. Hanging its bell marked the temple's revival.

The smallest of Kawaraya-ji's seven listed buildings, this 1818 hall of barely three square metres packs full Zen detail around Binzuru, the arhat rubbed for healing.

Discover Saigan-ji Main Hall, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Ōmi-Hachiman, Shiga. This thatched-roof Jōdo Buddhist temple from the mid-17th century blends farmhouse aesthetics with sacred architecture, set within Japan's first Important Cultural Landscape.

The Gobyō at Saikyō-ji is an 1842 grave hall on the hill west of the Main Hall, said to hold the founder Shinsei's stupa. Its rich carving marks it among the oldest here.

Discover the Jitsujōbō Gate, a nationally registered tangible cultural property in Ōtsu, Shiga. This late Edo-period yakuimon gate at a sub-temple of Saikyō-ji features elegant gable carpentry and iconic Anōshū-style stone walls.

Tucked into the mountains of southwestern Shiga, the Main Hall of Takamiya Shrine in Tarao is a refined 1859 sanctuary built by master carpenter Takagi Sakuemon. This single-bay nagare-zukuri shrine with its cypress-bark roof — registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2003 — preserves a chain of legends linking it to the wandering enshrinement of Amaterasu, to the noble Konoe family, and to a centuries-old local cult of the wolf as divine messenger.

High on Mount Akagami, the late-Edo Worship Hall of Tarobogu Aga Shrine is where pilgrims pray. Its timber and copper roof earned a 2019 Cultural Property listing.

On Mount Akagami's rock face, the 1753 Main Hall of Tarobogu Aga Shrine honours a kami of victory. Its carved irimoya hall was registered as a Cultural Property in 2019.

The Main Hall of Saifukuji Temple in Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture, is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property built in 1862 during the late Edo period. This Jodo-shu (Pure Land) Buddhist hall features an imposing hip-and-gable tiled roof, a classic floor plan with outer hall, inner sanctuary, and flanking chambers, and fine decorative carvings characteristic of the bakumatsu era.

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.

On Lake Biwa's north shore, Sugaura's villagers kept 1,281 documents recording their medieval self-rule and land disputes. They became a National Treasure in 2018.

A National Treasure of early Edo Japan: fifteen figures in a Kyoto pleasure quarter, the classical kinki shoga theme recast as shamisen, sugoroku, and love letters.