A Square Base and a Round Upper Storey, Built in 1523
The Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda is a three-bay tahoto pagoda with a shingled roof standing on the hill west of the shrine at Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, built in 1523 and designated an Important Cultural Property on 2 August 1901.
Itsukushima Shrine attributes the building to a Zen monk named Shukan. The hill it occupies is called Tahogaoka, and the shrine records that a temple named Tahoin once stood here, the pagoda being an adjunct of it. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places the structure in the late Muromachi period and classifies it as pre-modern temple architecture.
The interesting part is the geometry. The lower storey has a square plan and a square roof. Above that roof sits a plastered dome shaped like a steamed bun, and from the dome upward the building turns round: the columns of the upper storey are arranged on a circle, and everything from the shaft through to the bracket complexes follows that circle. Itsukushima Shrine calls the use of a circular plan an unusual method in Japanese architecture, and standing beneath the eaves you can watch the square resolve into a curve over the space of about two metres.
Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education gives the height as 15.6 metres and describes the framing as essentially pure Japanese-style work. Its account adds a detail the shrine's does not: above the circular bracket zone the bracket arms are set radiating in the daibutsu manner, and the eaves purlin then resolves them back into a square. The prefecture also explains the dome, noting that the tahoto form descends from the Indian stupa and that this rounded mass is a survival of the burial mound.
Roofing sets the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda apart from its neighbours. Almost every designated building on this precinct is roofed in cypress bark. This one is Kokerabuki, laid in thin split shingles, which reads as a finer and flatter texture from below.
Why a Tahoto Is Not Just a Small Pagoda
Tahoto is a form, not a size. It takes its name from Taho Nyorai, the Buddha Prabhutaratna, who in the Lotus Sutra appears inside a jewelled stupa to confirm the truth of the teaching. Esoteric Buddhism in Japan built that image as a two-level tower with a round core, and the shape carried doctrinal weight rather than being a stylistic choice.
The designation of 2 August 1901 covers one structure, with a single Munafuda recorded as Tsuketari, attached property. That ridge tablet is the sort of document that fixes a building's date and its patrons, and it is why the 1523 attribution can be stated rather than estimated.
What makes the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda worth protecting is partly that it survived the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in the early Meiji period at all. Tahoin is gone. The pagoda stayed, retained by the shrine, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs still lists it under temple architecture, a small administrative fossil of the arrangement that produced it.
The Quietest Corner of the Precinct
Most visitors turn left out of the shrine exit, walk past Daiganji and stop at the Treasure Hall. The steps up to the pagoda are on the right, and they are often empty. That alone changes the experience: you can stand still in front of the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda for ten minutes without moving aside for anyone.
Look at the transition first. The lower eaves are deep and horizontal, and above them the white dome is deliberately plain, so that the eye reads the round upper storey as something set down rather than grown. Then look at the bracket sets on the upper level. Because they sit on a circle, no two are parallel, and the rafters fan outward from the centre in a way square construction never produces.
The terrace also gives an unusually clean line of sight over the roofs of the shrine to the water. Cherry trees grow around it, and in April the pagoda is photographed through blossom more often than it is photographed on its own. The building is closed; Itsukushima Shrine states that the interior cannot be entered.
Seeing the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda
Access is free and unrestricted, and photography from outside is permitted. Leave the shrine by the west exit, continue past Daiganji toward the Treasure Hall, and take the stone steps up on the seaward side. The climb is short, perhaps three minutes, with a handrail on part of it.
The Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda is not covered by any admission ticket because it is not enclosed. If you want to combine it with indoor viewing, the shrine buildings charge 300 yen for adults and the Treasure Hall 300 yen, with a combined ticket at 500 yen; the Treasure Hall opens 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Reaching the island means a ferry from JR Miyajimaguchi Station or the Hiroden stop, about ten minutes, then roughly a fifteen-minute walk to this side of the precinct. Hatsukaichi City levies a Miyajima visitor tax of 100 yen per entry, collected with the fare. There is no parking at the shrine.
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Q&A
- Where exactly is the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda?
- On Tahogaoka, the low hill west of the shrine, reached by stone steps between Daiganji and the Treasure Hall. It is about a fifteen-minute walk from Miyajima pier.
- Can you go inside the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda?
- No. Itsukushima Shrine states that the interior is not open. The exterior can be walked around freely at any hour.
- What is the difference between the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda and the five-storey one?
- Different form, date, site and roofing. This one dates from 1523, has a square lower storey carrying a round upper storey, and is roofed in split shingles. The five-storey pagoda dates from 1407, stands on the opposite side of the precinct and is roofed in cypress bark.
- Is the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda a good spot for cherry blossom?
- Cherry trees surround the terrace and flower in early April, and the elevated position gives a view over the shrine roofs toward the sea. The terrace is small, so it fills quickly at weekends in season.
- Who built the Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda?
- Itsukushima Shrine attributes it to the Zen monk Shukan in 1523. It originally belonged to a temple called Tahoin that stood on the same hill and no longer exists.
- Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education, List of Nationally and Prefecturally Designated Cultural Properties (PDF)
- https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/640309.pdf
Basic Information
| Name | Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda (厳島神社多宝塔, Itsukushima Jinja Tahoto) |
|---|---|
| Location | Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property. Within the World Heritage site Itsukushima Shinto Shrine |
| Year Designated | 1901 (2 August) |
| Quantity | 1 structure; 1 ridge tablet as attached property |
| Dimensions | Three-bay tahoto pagoda, shingled roof, height 15.6 m, 1523. Square lower storey with a plastered dome carrying a circular upper storey |
| Owner | Itsukushima Shrine |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable free of charge on Tahogaoka hill at any hour. Interior closed. Miyajima visitor tax 100 yen |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3179
- Cultural Heritage Online: Itsukushima Shrine Two-Storied Pagoda
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/187326
- Itsukushima Shrine, Cultural Properties and Structures
- https://www.itsukushimajinja.jp/jp/culture.html
- Itsukushima Shrine, Opening Hours and Admission
- https://www.itsukushimajinja.jp/jp/admission.html
- Itsukushima Shrine, Access
- https://www.itsukushimajinja.jp/jp/access.html
- Hatsukaichi City, Outline of the Miyajima Visitor Tax
- https://www.city.hatsukaichi.hiroshima.jp/soshiki/110/59551.html
- Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education, List of Nationally and Prefecturally Designated Cultural Properties (PDF)
- https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/640309.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.08