In 2018, DOCOMOMO Japan was established as a general incorporated association,
and the year of eligibility extended up to 1979. Since then, approximately ten works are
selected annually through exchanges of opinions in selection meetings, based on
recommendations from the DOCOMOMO Working Group of the Architectural Institute
of Japan’s Committee on Architectural History and Design, as well as from
DOCOMOMO Japan members.
Since 2024, the completion year requirement was revised to having been built at least
35 years prior to the present day.
As of 2026, among the architectural works selected after the first 150, one work has
been designated an Important Cultural Property, while 25 other works are maintained as
Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Local Cultural Properties, or Structures of
Landscape Importance, but 13 works have disappeared, including some that were partly
demolished.
The current selection criteria are as follows:
Selection Criteria for “Architecture of the Modern Movement in Japan”
1. In principle, buildings that date from 1920 onward; that have stood for at least 35 years as of the year of selection; that are currently extant; and that retain their original architectural value.
2. Architectural structures that meet one or more of the following criteria and are deemed worthy of preservation or reuse; or have architectural value that is being maintained and enhanced through continued use:
a. Architectural structures that demonstrated technical innovations (structure, mechanical, material) at the time of completion.
b. Architectural structures that demonstrated ideas about social reform (proposals for new forms of community or labor) at the time of completion.
c. Architectural structures that demonstrated distinct viewpoints on environmental formation (composition of plazas and building ensembles, consideration for locality and climate) at the time of completion.
d. Architectural structures that strikingly reflect the era of the development of the Modern Movement at the time of completion.
e. Architectural structures that, in principle, demonstrate aesthetic qualities based on geometric composition (lack of ornament).
Revised 18 March 2023