A Zen Buddha Hall in Tomo
The Ankokuji Shakado Hall (Tomo) (安国寺釈迦堂) is a Zen-style Buddha hall at Ankokuji in Ushiroji, Tomo-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, designated an Important Cultural Property on April 25, 1927. It is said to be the Buddha hall of the former temple Kinpoji (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Hiroshima Prefecture).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as three bays by three, single-storey, hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) with a hongawara tile roof, and dates it to the mid-Muromachi period. Hiroshima Prefecture lists a pair of pillar couplets designated with it.
From Kinpoji to the Ankokuji of Bingo
According to Hiroshima Prefecture, the temple was founded as Kinpoji by the monk Gukoku, who named his teacher Hotto Enmyo Kokushi (Shinchi Kakushin) as founding abbot. In 1339, when Ashikaga Takauji set up an Ankokuji in each province to pray for those killed since the Genko War, it became the Ankokuji of Bingo.
The temple later declined but was revived in 1579 by Ankokuji Ekei, who carried out a major repair of the Shakado in 1599. The main hall behind it burned in 1918, leaving the Shakado, garden stones and a great cycad. The temple grounds are a prefectural historic site (Hiroshima Prefecture).
Why It Was Designated
The Ankokuji Shakado Hall was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1927. Hiroshima Prefecture describes it as preserving well the sober form of a Zen-style Buddha hall of the late Kamakura to early Nanbokucho period, the first half of the 14th century.
A memorial tablet to Bodhidharma, a prefectural property, is said to have been given by the carpenter Fujiwara Suehiro to mark the building of the Kinpoji Buddha hall, the present Shakado, in 1273 (Hiroshima Prefecture).
What to Look For
The Ankokuji Shakado Hall is a hall three bays square under a hip-and-gable hongawara tile roof, keeping the form of a Zen Buddha hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Hiroshima Prefecture).
It houses two Important Cultural Property sculptures: an Amida triad of 1274, a Zenkoji-style group whose central figure is 170 centimetres tall, and a realistic seated statue of Hotto Kokushi made in 1275 when he was 69 (Hiroshima Prefecture).
Visiting the Shakado
The Ankokuji Shakado Hall stands in the grounds of Ankokuji. We found no official information from the temple or local government on viewing hours or fees. The location is Ushiroji, Tomo-cho, Fukuyama City.
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Q&A
- When was the Ankokuji Shakado Hall built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs says the mid-Muromachi period; Hiroshima Prefecture says the first half of the 14th century.
- What was the Ankokuji Shakado Hall originally?
- The Buddha hall of the former temple Kinpoji, according to tradition (Hiroshima Prefecture).
- What is the Ankokuji of Bingo?
- One of the Ankokuji set up in each province by Ashikaga Takauji, later revived by Ankokuji Ekei (Hiroshima Prefecture).
- What is enshrined in the Ankokuji Shakado Hall?
- An Amida triad and a seated statue of Hotto Kokushi, both Important Cultural Properties (Hiroshima Prefecture).
- When was the Ankokuji Shakado Hall designated?
- On April 25, 1927.
Basic Information
| Name | Ankokuji Shakado Hall (Tomo) (安国寺釈迦堂) |
|---|---|
| Location | Ushiroji, Tomo-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Designated 1927/4/25 (Showa 2) |
| Quantity | 1 building (with 1 pair of pillar couplets) |
| Dimensions | Three bays by three, single storey, irimoya roof, hongawara tiles |
| Owner | Not listed in the national record |
| Public Access | Temple grounds (no official visiting information) |
References
- Ankokuji Shakado Hall (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/3144
- Designated cultural properties in Fukuyama (Hiroshima Prefecture)
- https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/640310.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.08