Tateyama Castle

Tateyama Castle (Tateyama-jo) was built by the daimyo Satomi Yoshiyasu in the latter half of the 16th century. It stands at the top of a small hill. Many castles which symbolized the samurai were destroyed throughout the country in the latter half of the 19th century when the government dominated by the samurai came to a close, and this castle met the same fate. The existing three-tiered, four-storied donjon was built in 1982 as an annex to the Tateyama City Museum. Many materials relating to the lengthy historical novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden, written by the great 19th-century novelist Takizawa Bakin and set in this region, are exhibited here.

Kokuritsu Rekishi Minzoku Hakubutsukan

The National Museum of Japanese History (Kokuritsu Rekishi Minzoku Hakubutsukan) is a national history museum for general research, containing exhibits related to Japanese history and culture. The museum is located on a site of around 130,000 square meters in the Sakura Castle remains, in the city of Sakura, Chiba Prefecture. The building of the museum is a magnificent hall of history with a total floor space of approximately 35,000 square meters. Many items designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties by the government are housed here. In the comprehensive regular displays, items are rotated monthly to enable the maximum number to be displayed. Outside, a Useful Plants Garden allows visitors to further their knowledge of plants that over the centuries have become part of everyday life, including the following: plants used for food, plants used for spinning yarn and making paper, plants used for dyeing, plants used for medicinal purposes, plants used for making tools, and plants used for painting, gluing, and fuel.

Chiba Kenritsu Bijutsukan (Art Museum)

Chiba Kenritsu Bijutsukan is located in Rinkai Koen, a park in Chuo-ku, near Chiba Chuo-ko Harbor, in the city of Chiba. A distinguishing feature of this museum is that it has a People's Art Studio for residents of Chiba Prefecture. Under the motto "see, talk, create," the People's Art Studio offers people artistic materials which have a strong bearing on everyday life, and holds workshops in Japanese-style painting, Western-style painting and metalwork. Included in the museum's collection are Millet's Sheep Grazing Along a Hedgerow and Memories in the Suburbs of Naples. Works by Chu Asai, a pioneer in Western-style painting in modern Japan, are also featured, along with those of such leading modern metalworking artists as Hotsuma Katori and Shinobu Tsuda, who have greatly contributed to the development of the industrial arts in modern Japan.

Shin-Kokuritsu Gekijo Butai Bijutsu (New National Theater - Stage Set & Design) Center

Shin-Kokuritsu Gekijo Butai Bijutsu Center is located in the city of Choshi in Chiba Prefecture. The center maintains and stores stage-related equipment and costumes used in the ballet and opera which are performed at the Shin Kokuritsu Gekijo (New National Theater) at Hatsudai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, and also displays these materials to the public. It is the first such facility ever in Japan, and includes a warehouse equipped with an automatic receiving system, an art construction building for repairing large stage props, and a museum which houses and displays theater arts-related materials from all over the world. On display in the exhibit area are stage- and film-related materials, including model stages, stage costumes and props.

Shinsho-ji Temple

Shinsho-ji is a large temple founded in the mid-10th century by adherents of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. The temple is dedicated to Fudomyo-o (the god of fire), who is believed to drive out evil spirits. In the front of the temple is an altar, and a central fireplace where wood is placed. Fire symbolizes wisdom, while the wood symbolizes the many illusions that perplex us. This means that the fire of wisdom burns out the wood of illusions, a concept known as "goma" (holy fire for invocation), and the Shinsho-ji is known as the center of goma training for the Shingon sect. The twelve sections of the doors of the Shaka-do (the hall enshrining the image of Shakamuni, the historical Buddha) in the temple grounds are carved with images derived from Chinese folklore, while Dainichi-Nyorai, the principal image of the Buddha, is enshrined in the Komyo-do, which was built in the early 18th century. Both halls have been designated Important Cultural Properties by the Japanese government. Other buildings, including a three-storied pagoda, Nio-mon (a temple gate with a pair of Deva kings standing at at either side), and hall of framed pictures (a display of votive pictures of horses), have also been designated Important Cultural Properties.