Eleven Stone Pagodas on a Walled Terrace
The Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas are a group of 11 granite monuments standing on a walled terrace behind the main hall of Jozenji, a Shingon temple in Enki, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, and the group was designated an Important Cultural Property on 23 March 1961 (Shōwa 36). The 11 comprise 4 five-element pagodas (gorintō), 5 reliquary pagodas of the hōkyōintō type, and 2 treasure pagodas (hōtō). All are cut from the pale local granite that Imabari's stonemasons worked for centuries.
They are not arranged where they were first raised. Local records say the monuments were gathered in 1704 from ravines scattered around the neighbourhood and reassembled here, so the present pairings of base, shaft, roof and finial may not reproduce the original sets. The Agency for Cultural Affairs registers each of the 11 separately, one unit apiece, which is why a visitor counting stones and a database entry can seem to disagree.
Three of them carry dates. A gorintō in the centre of the front row is inscribed with the twenty-fifth day of the second month of Shōchū 3, that is 1326. One of the hōkyōintō on the right of the front row bears the same year. A hōkyōintō on the left side is dated Enbun 2, or 1357. Those three inscriptions fix the group between the closing decades of the Kamakura period and the early Muromachi period, and everything undated is placed by style within that same span.
Why the Group Was Designated
Stone pagodas of this age survive in fair numbers across western Japan, but usually one or two at a site. What earned the Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas their 1961 designation is that 11 of them, in three distinct forms and covering roughly a century of production, stand together in one enclosure with dated pieces among them. Undated stones can be read against dated ones, and the three forms can be compared side by side.
The Enki area, part of the old Noma district that also takes in Noma and Kannomiya, is unusually thick with medieval stonework. The Agency for Cultural Affairs, in the Japan Heritage story built around the Murakami sea lords of the Geiyo Islands, treats the Noma stone pagodas as evidence of craftsmen moving north and south across the inland sea before and during the rise of those maritime clans. Carving conventions that appear on the islands turn up again on the mainland here, which is the sort of link that stone, unlike timber, tends to preserve.
The 1704 regathering complicates the picture without weakening it. Sets may be mixed. Individual components, though, were carved when they were carved, and the group remains one of the better places in Ehime to see late-Kamakura and early-Muromachi stone-carving assembled in one view.
What to Look For
Start with the three shapes, because once you can tell them apart the terrace becomes legible. A gorintō stacks five elements in ascending order: cube, sphere, pyramid, hemisphere, and a jewel-shaped finial, representing earth, water, fire, wind and void. A hōkyōintō has a square body under a stepped roof whose four corners rise in flaring projections called sumikazari, with a slender finial above. A hōtō sets a cylindrical body under a square roof. Four, five and two of them respectively, in a space small enough to take in from a single standing position.
Then look for the cutting. Granite resists the chisel, and carvers economised: the flare of a hōkyōintō corner, the taper of a gorintō's fire element, the profile of a roof underside. These are the details that shift by generation, and comparing the dated 1326 stones against their undated neighbours is the closest thing to a legend for reading the rest.
The inscriptions themselves are faint. Centuries of rain on granite have shallowed them, and they are easier to find in low, raking light than at midday. Bring patience rather than expectations.
The setting matters too. The terrace sits above the main hall inside a cemetery, enclosed by an earthen wall, reached by a short climb. Jozenji is known locally as Engi no Kannon-sama, and its fortune slips, devised by an Edo-period abbot, still draw visitors who never make it up to the stones.
Visiting
Imabari City lists the Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas as open at any hour, with no closing days and no admission fee. The city suggests allowing about 30 minutes, which is about right if you intend to look at each monument rather than photograph the row and leave.
By car, the site is roughly 5 minutes from the Imabari interchange. By bus, take the Setouchi Bus Kikuma line from in front of Imabari Station, ride about 11 minutes, get off at Enki, and walk about 15 minutes. The city notes that there is no dedicated car park at the temple; enquiries go to Jozenji on 0898-22-4671. The address is 600 Enki-kō, Imabari City.
Two things are worth remembering on site. The terrace stands within a working cemetery, so approach it as you would any burial ground. And no published notice states the temple's position on photography, so keep to personal snapshots, avoid photographing graves and mourners, and ask at the temple first if you plan to use a tripod or shoot at length.
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Q&A
- How many Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas are there, and what types are they?
- There are 11 in all: 4 gorintō five-element pagodas, 5 hōkyōintō reliquary pagodas and 2 hōtō treasure pagodas. All 11 are granite, and all 11 are covered by the single Important Cultural Property designation.
- Can I see the Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas freely, and is there an admission fee?
- Yes. Imabari City lists the site as accessible at any hour with no closing days and no admission fee. The monuments stand outdoors on a terrace behind the main hall, inside the temple cemetery.
- How do I get to the Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas by public transport?
- Take the Setouchi Bus Kikuma line from in front of Imabari Station, ride about 11 minutes to the Enki stop, then walk about 15 minutes. Drivers reach the temple in roughly 5 minutes from the Imabari interchange, but the city notes there is no car park at the site.
- Which of the Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas carry dated inscriptions?
- Three do. A gorintō in the centre of the front row and a hōkyōintō on the right of the front row are both dated Shōchū 3, or 1326; a hōkyōintō on the left side is dated Enbun 2, or 1357. The inscriptions are shallow and easiest to read in low light.
- Are the Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas standing where they were originally built?
- Probably not. Local accounts hold that the monuments were collected in 1704 from ravines around the district and set up together on this terrace, so the present combinations of components may differ from the original ones.
Basic Information
| Name | Jozenji Temple Stone Pagodas |
|---|---|
| Location | Enki, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture (precincts of Jozenji Temple) |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Designated March 23, 1961 (Shōwa 36) |
| Quantity | 11 pagodas (4 gorintō, 5 hōkyōintō, 2 hōtō) |
| Dimensions | Heights of the individual pagodas are not given in the published sources |
| Owner | Jozenji Temple |
| Public Access | Viewable outdoors at any time; no admission fee |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Designated Cultural Properties: Jozenji Stone Pagodas
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3364
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan Heritage Portal: Jozenji (Stone Pagodas of the Noma District)
- https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/2517/
- Imabari City, Tourist Information: Stone Pagoda Circuit
- https://www.city.imabari.ehime.jp/kanko/spot/?a=117
Last verified: 2026.09.04
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