Ishiteji Temple Niomon Gate

A Masterpiece among Kamakura Two-Storey Gates

The Ishiteji Temple Niomon Gate (石手寺二王門) is a two-storey gate of the Kamakura period of 1318 in Ishite, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, and was designated a National Treasure on November 22, 1952 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-storey gate three bays wide with one passage, under a hip-and-gable roof of full tiles; designation number 00099.

The Agency record also gives an earlier designation date of May 27, 1907, the date of its designation under the former law.

A Gate Rebuilt by Kono Michitsugu

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.

The gate is said to have been founded in 733; the present gate was rebuilt in 1318 by Kono Michitsugu and has come down to us with repairs between 1661 and 1681 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Is a National Treasure

The Agency calls it a masterpiece among the surviving two-storey gates of the Kamakura period.

Three-Step Brackets and Fine Frog-Leg Struts

It is a two-storey gate three bays wide with a single passage, without a lower roof, its upper storey wrapped by a railed veranda (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The upper brackets project three steps, with frog-leg struts between the brackets below and short posts between those above.

Its proportions follow a well-ordered system, its outline is well balanced and its details are excellent; the frog-leg struts and the carvings inside are especially beautiful (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

What to Look For

Look for the balanced outline of the gate without a lower roof, the shapes of the frog-leg struts and the carvings inside (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Ishiteji Temple (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to Matsuyama City, Ishiteji is the 51st temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage and about 25 minutes on foot from Dogo Onsen Honkan. No official information on visiting hours or fees was found. The seven designated structures are introduced together on the Ishiteji Temple page.