Shōwa

Standing in the Nanokamachi district of Yamagata City, the Ichishima Gun and Gunpowder Shop is a compact yet dignified two-story building constructed in 1927 as the first reinforced concrete commercial structure in Yamagata Prefecture. Originally a firearms and gunpowder merchant dating back to the Edo period, the building features a distinctive stone-like mortar exterior and is registered as a national tangible cultural property.

The Former Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Snow Country Rural Economy Research Office Building in Shinjo, Yamagata Prefecture, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property completed in 1937. Designed by the pre-war Ministry of Finance Construction Bureau with basic design by Kon Wajirō, this rare surviving government building features a distinctive steep gable roof and dormer windows adapted for heavy snowfall. The building also hosted French designer Charlotte Perriand in 1940. Now open to the public as the Yuki no Sato Information Center, with free admission.

Discover Kurara Building No. 3 in Nanyo City, Yamagata — a 1927 reinforced concrete cocoon warehouse registered as a Tangible Cultural Property. Explore the silk industry heritage of the Okitama region, now revived as a community cultural hub.

Discover Sagae City Hall, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Yamagata Prefecture. Designed by Kisho Kurokawa in 1967, this bold Metabolism-style building features a striking cantilevered structure, an Okamoto Taro chandelier, and Tendo Mokko furniture.

After the 1913 flood, this 3.0-metre stone check dam on the Shobojigawa is one of the dams held to a uniform height, completed in 1927; registered in 2005.

After the 1913 flood, this 3.0-metre stone check dam on the Shobojigawa is a wider-spilled dam of the late 1920s, completed in 1927; registered in 2005.

After the 1913 flood, this 3.0-metre stone check dam on the Shobojigawa is the longest dam in the group, completed in 1927 and listed as a cultural property in 2005.

Discover the Rear Gate (Ushiro-Shinmon) and Sacred Fence (Tamagaki) of Fukura Kuchinomiya at Chokaisan Omonoimi Shrine in Yamagata Prefecture. This registered tangible cultural property of Japan, rebuilt in 1939, encloses the twin sanctuary halls of a 1,400-year-old mountain shrine — the Ichinomiya of Dewa Province at the foot of Mount Chokai.

The Former Nagai Elementary School First Building in Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, is a magnificent 93-meter-long wooden two-story schoolhouse built in 1933 by local civic leaders. Featuring Stick Style architecture, distinctive red exterior walls, a grand central staircase, and boat-bottom ceilings, it was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2009. Now open to the public as a community facility with a café, exhibition space, and workshops.

Discover the New Murao Roman-kan Annex, a 1937 Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Kaminoyama Onsen, Yamagata. Five exquisite wooden buildings connected by covered walkways showcase lavish Showa-era craftsmanship amidst a Japanese garden.

The Main Hall of Myozenji Temple in Yamagata City is a wooden temple building designed in 1934 by Ito Chuta, the legendary architect behind Tsukiji Hongwanji. Featuring symmetrical bell and drum towers and a grand 60-tatami hall, it is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

Rebuilt in 1935 after a fire, this two-story wooden schoolhouse in Yonezawa still holds classes, its half-timber walls facing the approach to Uesugi Shrine.

On Mount Chokai stands Ryuzuji's plain 1933 founder's hall, registered in 2015, its clapboard shell hiding a lacquered interior and trowel-worked plaster reliefs.

In Yamagata's Kaminoyama Onsen, the 1939 Ryokan Yonemoto blends Doric pilasters, round upper windows, and a tiled gabled entrance into an eclectic registered facade.

A 1952 cobblestone dam on Yamagata's Tachiyazawa River, trapping sediment off Mount Gassan. Its stonework and curved spillway became a cultural property in 2017.