Ishiteji Temple

Ishiteji Temple

Ishiteji Temple (石手寺) in Ishite, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, has a Niomon gate of 1318 that was designated a National Treasure on November 22, 1952, and six Important Cultural Properties: the main hall, the three-storied pagoda, the bell tower, the goma hall, the Kariteimoten Hall and a stone gorinto (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

According to the Agency's detailed commentary, Ishiteji is said to have been founded in 728 by Ochi no Tamazumi at the command of Emperor Shomu as Anyoji, and renamed Ishiteji in 892. Matsuyama City notes that it is the 51st temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage.

The Seven Structures

The Niomon, rebuilt by Kono Michitsugu, is a two-storey gate three bays wide without a lower roof, its upper storey wrapped by a railed veranda; for its frog-leg struts and carvings the Agency calls it a masterpiece among surviving Kamakura two-storey gates.

The late Kamakura main hall, five bays square, and the pagoda, the skirted bell tower of 1333, the early Muromachi goma hall with its pyramidal roof, and the late Kamakura Kariteimoten Hall and stone gorinto together preserve the look of a medieval temple (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each is described on its own page.

Visiting

According to Matsuyama City, Ishiteji is about 25 minutes on foot from Dogo Onsen Honkan. No official information on visiting hours or fees was found.