Momoyama

The keep of Hikone Castle in Shiga, finished in 1606, has three tiers with gables and stepped roofs. It and its two turrets became National Treasures in 1952.

A Momoyama-period golden hall in Shiga Prefecture, dated to 1599. Its commentary field stands empty, while the structural field of it is a fuller one.

A Momoyama-period guest hall in Shiga Prefecture, built in the year 1600. Its category field here reads residence rather than temple or else a shrine.

This Keicho-era gate turret guards the last approach to the keep of Hikone Castle. Its rear wall is replaced by an open balustraded gallery, a very rare arrangement.

A Keicho-era gate turret at Hikone Castle with a matched corner turret at each end. The stone base joins original masonry on one side to late Edo work on the other.

A three-tiered turret at the north-west corner of Hikone Castle's west bailey, commanding the rear approach across a dry cutting. It was heavily remodelled in 1853.

Discover the 953-item Important Cultural Property collection documenting the achievements of Kunitomo Ikkansai (1778–1840), the 'Edison of the Edo Period.' From Japan's first reflecting telescope and sunspot observation records to the country's first practical air gun, explore the extraordinary scientific legacy born in a small gunsmith village in Shiga Prefecture.

Four buildings at Ishiyama-dera in Otsu designated in 2008: the Mieido, the cliffside Renjo-do, a once brightly painted shrine and a log sutra house on bedrock.

The main gate of Ishiyama-dera in Otsu, an eight-legged gate reshaped around the Keicho era and designated in 1907, with Nio guardians and a Toyotomi crest.

Rebuilt in 1595, these identical square halls on Mount Hiei are joined by a corridor you walk beneath, hence the name Ninai-do. They still serve Tendai meditation.

Rebuilt in 1581 on Oda Nobunaga's order, the Main Hall of Oiso Shrine in Shiga is a three-bay nagare-zukuri hall roofed in cypress bark, set in the old Oiso Forest.

Kasuga Shrine Front Gate in Ritto, Shiga, is a cypress-bark four-legged gate of 1613, protected since 1904. How to read its posts, viewing conditions and bus access.

A 1601 reception hall at Mii-dera in Otsu, Shiga, and a classic of shoin-zukuri, with Kano Sanraku paintings and a garden pond at its veranda. Open by booking only.

A 1597 shoin-style hall at Saikyoji in Otsu, said to be a palace moved from Fushimi Castle, with a wood-shingle roof. Designated 1902; interior shown in autumn 2026.

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.

Main hall of Shirahige Shrine on Lake Biwa in Takashima, Shiga, built in 1603 by Toyotomi Hideyori, at a shrine famed for the vermilion torii rising from the lake.

Linked by corridors to the main hall of Chomeiji in Omihachiman, Shiga, a Tensho-era Sanbutsudo and a shrine worship hall of 1565 were designated in 2021.

Dated 1606 by its rooftop inscription, this small cypress-bark hall for fire rituals stands between the main hall and pagoda of Chomeiji in Omihachiman, Shiga.

Finished in 1597, the shingle-roofed pagoda at Chomeiji in Omihachiman, Shiga, rises 24.35 m above a first storey only 4.85 m wide, a slender early modern form.

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.