Shōwa

Just a fifteen-minute walk from Shibuya Station, Onko Gakkai Kaikan is a quietly remarkable reinforced-concrete building completed in 1927 and designated a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2000. Designed and built by Shimizu-gumi, today's Shimizu Construction, the hall safeguards over twenty thousand original Edo-period woodblocks for Gunsho Ruijū, the monumental classical anthology compiled by the blind scholar Hanawa Hokiichi. Now open to the public as the Hanawa Hokiichi Memorial Museum, it offers an unforgettable glimpse into Japan's literary heritage.

Built in 1928 on the birthplace of Tokyo University, this SRC clubhouse by Toshikata Sano and Teitaro Takahashi served the alumni of Japan's seven former Imperial Universities. A Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 2003 and a Tokyo Metropolitan designation since 2025, it is currently closed for redevelopment until around 2030.

Registered in 2020, Kajikaen Watari-Roka is a wooden corridor in Ome, Tokyo, linking four buildings of a former inn down a steep slope by two staircases and a ramp.

A 1930 wooden house in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, drawn by architect Yoji Kanazawa for his father and built by Shimizu-gumi. Registered in 1998 in the scholars' quarter.

A 1930 timber gate with a tiled roof and a 10.7-metre board fence in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. Fine kumiko latticework fills the transom above the tie beam of the gate.

A 29-square-metre weatherboarded studio of 1930 in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, its north-west wall and roof partly glazed. Yoji Kanazawa built it as his own design office.

Built in 1932 in Umegaoka, Setagaya, this 104-square-metre wooden house sets three roof forms over a modern central-corridor plan. Registered in 2009.

A 50-square-metre annexe of 1932 at the rear of a Setagaya plot, holding a ten-mat room with alcove, shelves and writing bay, linked to the main house by a veranda.

A reinforced concrete gateway of 1932 in Umegaoka, Setagaya, with a 2.6-metre opening, pebble-washed surfaces and red panels between pilasters. Registered in 2009.

The 1930 main house of the Kamei Residence in Setagaya, Tokyo, pairs a pantiled Japanese block with a French-tiled Western wing set beside the entrance.

Designed in 1927 by Okada Shin'ichiro, architect of the Kabukiza, this kuri at Gokokuin is a rare Japanese-style work by a modern master, and Kan'eiji's first sub-temple.

East of the main hall at Kanda Myojin sits a 19-square-metre offering house of 1934, built in concrete yet lacquered red-ochre like a sanctuary. Registered 2003.

Built in 1932 at a Showa-dori corner in Ginza, the former Miyawaki Building packs three concrete storeys into 45 square metres on a trapezoid plan. Registered 2025.

The Former Mushakoji Saneatsu Residence in Chofu City, Tokyo, was built in 1955 for the novelist. Heavy mortar outside, light sukiya within. Open at weekends.

The Former Ministry of Education Building in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, dates from 1932 and survives inside a later high-rise. Scratch tile, large near-square windows.

A 1927 concrete villa in Kudankita, Tokyo, pairing Naito Tachu's 24cm load-bearing walls with Kigo Shichiro's Spanish detail. Registered in 2018; now kudan house.

A 1933 concrete boundary in Kudankita, Tokyo: a 4.1m tiled gate and 61m of wall with garage, matching the Yamaguchi mansion behind. Registered in 2018.

Just 1.8 m wide, this inner gate once stood at the street and was moved in 1962. On its mukuri roof, the courtyard it frames, and a conflict between sources.

The 1962 nagayamon of the former Yoshioka residence, assembled from salvaged timber: eight nyubyo studs, 150 Tokyo tramway setts, a hand-painted nameplate.

The Kiyokawa Shop in Nihonbashi Koamicho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, is the premises of Unagi Kiyokawa, a prestigious eel restaurant founded in 1874 during the Meiji era. The two-story wooden building, constructed in 1927 in the refined sukiya architectural style after the Great Kanto Earthquake, was registered as a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2018 as an exceptionally rare example of traditional wooden architecture surviving in central Tokyo. Beloved by literary giants including Tanizaki Junichiro and Watanabe Junichi, the restaurant continues to serve authentic Edo-style grilled eel prepared with a secret sauce that has been continuously replenished since its founding.