Behind the main hall, stepping up as it goes
Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall (龍泉寺開山堂及び位牌堂, Ryūsenji Kaizandō oyobi Ihaidō) is a Buddhist annexe in the Idezawa district of Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture, built in 1931 and entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 24 December 2013. It is attached to the rear, or north side, of the main hall of 1820 by a covered passage, so it does not read as a separate building from the front of the precinct.
The roof is Kirizuma-zukuri, a straightforward gable, laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles. Outer walls are boarded, with Shikkui plaster in places and overlapping weatherboards carried high up the wall. The footprint is long and narrow: 56 square metres, roughly 4.5 metres by 9.5 metres.
The carpenter is known by name. A Munafuda ridge tablet inside records Nakamura Keizō as master builder. What makes Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall interesting is how little the joint shows: an Edo-period hall and a Shōwa-period extension, built more than a century apart, share the same timber vocabulary.
Why a twentieth-century annexe was registered
The building carries registration number 23-0386 and was listed under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. This is registration rather than designation. National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties are designated; the Registered Tangible Cultural Property system, introduced in 1996, works differently and covers buildings still in service.
Shinshiro City's account is explicit about the reasoning. The annexe was valued not for age or rarity but for the way it forms a single historic composition with the main hall it adjoins. Age alone would not have qualified a building of 1931.
Four other buildings in the precinct were registered on the same December day: the main hall, the Kannon hall and tea hall, the priests' quarters and the bell tower. The group spans 135 years, from 1820 to 1955, and this annexe sits in the middle of that sequence.
Tablets on both sides, lacquer at the far end
Inside, the sequence runs from the main hall through the covered passage, into the memorial tablet hall, and finally to the founder's hall. The floor level rises in stages as you move away from the main hall. That rising floor is the plan explaining itself.
The memorial tablet hall has tiered stands along both side walls. Ihai are lacquered wooden tablets inscribed with the posthumous Buddhist names of the dead, one set per parish household, and families come to stand before them through the year. This is not a room arranged for display.
At the far end, up another step, is the founder's hall, dedicated to the monk who established the temple. Carved rainbow beams, Kōryō, span the key points at the entrance and around the altar at the back, and the finish here turns to lacquer. The contrast with the plain boarded exterior is deliberate and quite sharp.
Planning a visit
Ryūsenji is a working parish temple, and the tablet hall in particular is a room its parishioners use. No opening hours or admission fee have been published as of September 2026. From the grounds you can see the roofs stepping back behind the main hall, which is the clearest external view of Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall; going inside or photographing the interior needs a call to the temple first.
Ōmi Station on the JR Iida Line is the nearest railway stop, about 2.7 kilometres to the southeast and a walk of roughly 35 minutes. Services are infrequent, so check the timetable. By car it is about 7 kilometres, or 10 minutes, from the Shinshiro interchange on the Shin-Tōmei Expressway.
The History and Culture Division of the Shinshiro City Board of Education, on 0536-23-7610, answers questions about the registered buildings.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Aichi
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall
- [ Nagoya Castle & Atsuta Shrine History Tours ]
Q&A
- When was Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall built?
- In 1931. A ridge tablet names Nakamura Keizō as the master carpenter. The building was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 24 December 2013, under number 23-0386.
- Is Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall connected to the main hall?
- Yes. A covered passage joins it to the rear, north side of the main hall. From there the plan runs through the passage to the tablet hall and then the founder's hall, with the floor rising at each stage.
- What is a memorial tablet hall, and can visitors enter this one?
- It houses ihai, lacquered tablets bearing the posthumous names of parishioners' ancestors, on tiered stands. No visiting hours or fee are published as of September 2026, and the room remains in active use, so ask the temple before entering or photographing it.
- Is Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall an Important Cultural Property?
- No. It is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property under the registration system created in 1996, which is separate from the designation system that produces a National Treasure or an Important Cultural Property.
- How do I reach Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall?
- Walk about 2.7 kilometres northwest from Ōmi Station on the JR Iida Line, roughly 35 minutes. Drivers need about 10 minutes from the Shinshiro interchange on the Shin-Tōmei Expressway, some 7 kilometres away.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryusenji Temple Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall |
|---|---|
| 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 | Building area 56 square metres (about 4.5 by 9.5 metres), single-storey timber structure |
| Owner | Ryusenji, religious corporation |
| Public Access | No published opening hours or admission fee; interior not open to the public |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Ryusenji Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009765
- Ryusenji Main Hall and other buildings (Shinshiro City)
- https://www.city.shinshiro.lg.jp/kanko/minzokugeino/ryusenji.html
- Cultural Heritage Online, Ryusenji Founder's Hall and Memorial Tablet Hall
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/207484
Last verified: 2026.09.03