Teishoji Temple Gate

Teishoji Temple Gate at a Glance

The Teishoji Temple Gate (貞照寺門, Teishōji-mon) is an eight-legged gate built in 1933 on the east side of Teishoji Temple in Unuma Hoshakujicho, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on 3 August 2006.

The temple calls it the Niomon, the gate of the guardian kings, because a pair of Kongo Rikishi statues stands inside: one with an open mouth (agyō), one with a closed mouth (ungyō). The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a timber structure with copper roofing and an area of 29 square metres.

It belongs to the original set of buildings the actress Kawakami Sadayakko paid for when she founded the temple, and it is the first of them that every visitor passes through.

Why the Teishoji Temple Gate Was Registered

The Teishoji Temple Gate was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's description praises its well-balanced exterior and the richness of its details, and calls it a gate worthy of the east front of the grounds.

Its type is the hakkyakumon, or "eight-legged gate": 4 main pillars run down the centre, and each is braced front and back by a subsidiary post, making 8 supporting posts in all. Among temple gates it is a high-ranking form. Here it carries an Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable roof, with a triangular Chidori-hafu gable and a curved Noki-karahafu added on both the front and the back, so the gate is dressed just as carefully on the side most visitors see only as they leave.

Although it is an early Showa building, its posts, brackets and eaves follow classical temple carpentry. The temple credits the design and construction of the whole compound to Ito Heizaemon XI, heir to a line of master builders who had served the Owari domain.

What to Look for at the Teishoji Temple Gate

Round Pillars and Close-Set Brackets

The round pillars are locked together with penetrating tie beams. On top of each sits a bracket set (Kumimono) that projects one step outward, and further bracket sets are packed into the spaces between the pillars. This close-set arrangement, called tsumegumi, is mainly associated with the Zen style (Zenshūyō), and it fills the zone under the eaves with a continuous band of carpentry.

Fanned Rafters at the Corners

The eaves use two tiers of Taruki rafters, and at each corner the rafters radiate outward like the ribs of a fan. A curved Shirin panel closes the gap between the brackets and the eaves. Stand under a corner of the Teishoji Temple Gate and look up to see the fan open above you.

Carved Transoms and the Guardian Kings

What the Agency singles out most is the finely carved Ranma filling the space above the head-height tie beam, and the temple's own guide also mentions the detailed carving on the upper part of the gate. It is easy to walk straight under it, so stop before you enter and raise your eyes above the beam.

Step through and the main hall appears straight ahead, about 70 metres away. The temple's website features exactly this view, with the gate's posts and roof framing the hall, and it shows better than anything what the gate was designed to do.

Visiting the Teishoji Temple Gate

Because the Teishoji Temple Gate is the entrance to the grounds, anyone can walk through it and see the exterior and the guardian statues during temple hours. The rear carries the same gables as the front, so turn around once you are inside to compare them.

No access to the interior of the gate is advertised, and no photography rules are published; ask the temple if you are unsure. Directions and opening hours are on the Teishoji Temple page.