Built in 1955, in a much older form
Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower (龍泉寺鐘楼, Ryūsenji Shōrō) is a temple bell tower in the Idezawa district of Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture, built in 1955 and entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 24 December 2013. It stands east of the main hall and south of the priests' quarters, its ridge running east to west.
The form is one bay square and completely open: four posts, no walls on any side. Floor area is given as 6.7 square metres by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and 6.6 square metres by Shinshiro City. This is the smallest of the five registered structures at Ryūsenji, and the only one classed as an engineering work rather than a building.
A Munafuda ridge tablet names Sugaya Shūzō as master carpenter. Ten years after the end of the war, with concrete going up everywhere else in Japan, this carpenter set out a bell tower by the old rules and followed them through to the last joint.
The last of the five
Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower carries registration number 23-0389 and was listed under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. That places it in the Registered Tangible Cultural Property system created in 1996, which is registration, not the designation that produces a National Treasure or an Important Cultural Property.
Shinshiro City's reasoning is worth quoting in substance: although the bell tower is later than the halls around it, it was built so as to form a single composition with them. A structure of 1955, 135 years younger than the main hall of 1820, was judged to sit in the precinct without breaking it.
The main hall, the founder's hall and memorial tablet hall, the Kannon hall and tea hall and the priests' quarters were all registered on the same December day. The five went up at widely different times, yet the roofs match in form and tiling, and the precinct reads as one continuous scene.
Posts that lean in, a coffered ceiling above
Four square posts rise from a stone platform. Their corners are chamfered in the kichōmen profile, and each post leans very slightly inwards, a technique called uchikorobi. Look up from below and the effect is immediate: the frame reads as braced and settled rather than merely upright.
Horizontal ties pass through the posts at waist height and again at lintel height. At the top, a head tie shaped like a Kōryō rainbow beam and a bearing plate lock the four sides together. The bracket sets are Mitsudo-gumi, and the intermediate brackets that would normally sit between posts have been left out, so nothing competes with the line of the timbers.
Above, an Irimoya-zukuri roof in Sangawara-buki pantiles rests on a single tier of closely spaced Taruki rafters. Because there are no walls, the Gō-tenjō coffered ceiling is in full view from the ground. Coffered ceilings are common enough in open bell towers; finding one worked to this standard in a structure of under seven square metres is less so.
Planning a visit
Having no walls, Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower is the one structure here whose construction can be studied in full from outside. Of the five registered buildings at the temple, it rewards a close look the most. The bell itself is rung for temple observances and is not available for visitors to strike.
Ryūsenji is a working parish temple owned by a religious corporation. No opening hours or admission fee have been published as of September 2026, and no photography rules have been published either, so ask at the temple if it matters to you.
Ōmi Station on the JR Iida Line is the nearest railway stop, roughly 2.7 kilometres southeast and about 35 minutes on foot; services are infrequent. By car, allow about 10 minutes from the Shinshiro interchange on the Shin-Tōmei Expressway, some 7 kilometres away. The History and Culture Division of the Shinshiro City Board of Education takes enquiries on 0536-23-7610.
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Q&A
- When was Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower built?
- In 1955. A ridge tablet names Sugaya Shūzō as the master carpenter. It was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 24 December 2013, under registration number 23-0389.
- How is Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower constructed?
- It is one bay square and open on all four sides. Four chamfered square posts stand on a stone platform, leaning slightly inwards, tied at waist and lintel height and locked at the top by a curved head tie and bearing plate. The roof is hipped-and-gabled with pantiles.
- Can I see Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower freely, and may I ring the bell?
- The structure has no walls, so it can be examined from the temple grounds. The bell is rung for temple observances and is not open to visitors. No opening hours or admission fee have been published as of September 2026.
- Why was Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower registered despite its recent date?
- It was listed for contributing to the historic landscape. Shinshiro City notes that although it postdates the halls around it, it was built to form a single composition with them.
- How do I reach Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower?
- Walk about 2.7 kilometres northwest from Ōmi Station on the JR Iida Line, roughly 35 minutes. By car it is about 7 kilometres, or 10 minutes, from the Shinshiro interchange on the Shin-Tōmei Expressway.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryusenji Temple Bell Tower |
|---|---|
| Location | Matoba-da 30-31 merged area 1, Idezawa, Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 24 December 2013 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Area 6.7 square metres (Shinshiro City publishes 6.6 square metres), timber, one bay square |
| Owner | Ryusenji, religious corporation |
| Public Access | No published opening hours or admission fee; open-sided, so the structure can be viewed from the grounds |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Ryusenji Bell Tower (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009768
- Ryusenji Main Hall and other buildings (Shinshiro City)
- https://www.city.shinshiro.lg.jp/kanko/minzokugeino/ryusenji.html
- Cultural Heritage Online, Ryusenji Bell Tower
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/207687
Last verified: 2026.09.03