Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower

About the Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower

The Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower (浄福寺鐘楼, Jōfuku-ji Shōrō) is a late Edo-period Shōrō standing in the precinct of Jofukuji in Hibaru, Minami Ward, Fukuoka City, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.

Jofukuji, whose mountain name is Chiyozan, belongs to the Honganji branch of Jodo Shinshu. The temple says it was founded in 1616, when it was granted temple lands. It originally stood in Katakasu, in what is now Hakata Ward, and moved out to Hibaru because of a city planning project. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower was relocated in 1975, which places its move alongside the temple's.

The tower is small, one bay square with a floor area of 8.4 m², and open on all four sides. Its hip-and-gable Irimoya-zukuri roof is laid with Hongawarabuki tiles. Note that an unrelated Jofukuji in Okawa City, also in Fukuoka Prefecture, has its own registered buildings.

From Osaka to Hakata to Hibaru

A history of the Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower on the temple's website, written by Yoshiro Yamano, formerly associate professor at the Kyushu University Graduate School, relays the temple's account. The tower first stood at Honsenji, a large temple in Tenma Naruo-cho, Osaka, known as the Horikawa Gobo. By 1897 Honsenji had moved to what is now Shitomiya Honmachi in Shijonawate, Osaka Prefecture, and at that time it sold the tower, together with a Bonshō bell inscribed with the date 1637, to Jofukuji, then in Katakasu in Chikuzen.

The Agency's database also records two relocations of the tower, one in the mid-Meiji period and one in 1975: the first from Osaka to Hakata, the second from Hakata to Hibaru.

The sale of the bell is described as established fact. The bell itself, however, was surrendered for metal in the last years of the Second World War and no longer exists.

Was it built in 1637?

Elsewhere the temple's website says the tower was built in 1637. The Agency's database dates the building to the late Edo period, and the history on the same website also calls it a late Edo work. The year 1637 is the date that was cast on the lost bell, and this page follows the Agency's dating.

Why the Jofukuji Bell Tower Was Registered

The Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower was registered as a model of its type of design. The Agency describes its carefully assembled details and sums it up as an open bell tower of outstanding design.

According to the temple's history, nothing of the same form turned up in Fukuoka City's survey of early modern shrine and temple buildings, and the tower appears to be the work of carpenters from outside Chikuzen. Honsenji's present main hall mixes a Wayō base with Zenshūyō features such as stone plinths and paneled doors, and shares that eclectic character with the tower. It is a fully professional bell tower built in the Osaka region that is still in use in Fukuoka.

When the tower was dismantled and repaired in 2009, the work was limited to replacing some structural members and re-laying the roof. Even the Taruki rafters were mended one by one so that the old timbers could be kept.

What to Look for at Jofukuji Bell Tower

The round posts of the Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower stand on stone plinths called soban and lean slightly inward, a technique known as Uchikorobi. Low tie beams, Nageshi rails and a flat daiwa beam across the post tops lock them together.

Under the eaves, two-step bracket sets with projecting tail rafters (odaruki) are set not only on the posts but also between them, in the Tsumegumi manner. The single layer of eave rafters fans out from the corners as Ōgidaruki. Soban plinths, closely set brackets and fanned rafters are all borrowed from the Zen style.

The gable ends are filled with Kitsure-goshi latticework. Stand beneath the bell and look up: the ceiling exposes the rafters as a Keshō-yaneura, with a flat Kagami-tenjō panel only at the centre. Look too for the carved Ranma panels and the shallow patterns cut into the faces of the timbers. With no walls, every detail can be seen from all four sides.

Visiting the Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower

The Jofukuji Temple Bell Tower stands in the temple precinct and can be viewed from outside. No admission fee or opening hours are advertised. The temple says the bell is rung at two services each year and on New Year's Eve.

Jofukuji is rebuilding its main hall, with a completion ceremony planned for 29 November 2026 (checked September 2026). During the works cars may not enter the precinct, and the principal image is housed in a temporary hall. Check the temple's notices on the construction before visiting.

No official guidance on photography could be found (checked September 2026). If you want to take pictures in the precinct, ask someone at the temple first.

The nearest Nishitetsu bus stops are Dagahara, about 5 minutes on foot, Ide, about 7 minutes, and Aburayama, about 9 minutes. By car it is about 30 minutes from Hakata or Tenjin; normally there is parking in front of the gate and inside the precinct. The temple gives its postal address as 6-10-16 Hibaru, Minami Ward, Fukuoka City.