The Jodoji Hokyointo Dated 1348
Jodoji Temple Hokyointo Stupa (浄土寺宝篋印塔, Jōdo-ji Hōkyōintō) is a Nanbokuchō-period stone hōkyōintō at the eastern edge of Jodoji Temple in Higashikubo-cho, Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, inscribed with the date of the first day of the 10th month of 1348 and designated an Important Cultural Property on August 29, 1953.
Jodoji has two hōkyōintō designated under the same name. This page covers the one that carries a dated inscription. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records "a stone hōkyōintō, inscribed Jōwa 4, tsuchinoe-ne year, 10th month, 1st day" and places it in the early Muromachi period. At 3.2 meters, according to the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education, it is the tallest of the designated stone monuments in the grounds.
A hōkyōintō is a Japanese stupa form with a square body, a stepped roof and upturned corner ornaments, named for a sutra it was originally meant to hold. The inscription on this one explains its purpose. According to the Hiroshima board of education, it was raised for the gyakushu of the novice Gyōen and three others, rites people commissioned for their own souls while still alive, and for the memorial of Kōkō and others who had died. One monument served both the living and the dead. The statement of purpose is cut inside the cusped panel on the base.
A Regional Signature in Stone
The Jodoji Hokyointo is easiest to read from the bottom up. The base carries a fine cusped panel and is topped with a band of downturned lotus petals. On that sits the body, cut with the seed syllables of the four Buddhas of the Diamond Realm. The raised corner ornaments of the roof carry the seed syllables of the eight guardian devas of the directions.
What the Hiroshima board of education singles out is a receiving platform inserted between the base and the body. It describes this as a regional trait found on hōkyōintō in Iyo, present-day Ehime Prefecture, and in southern Bingo. Onomichi lies at the southern edge of Bingo, facing Iyo across the Seto Inland Sea, and the Jodoji Hokyointo shares a form common to both shores.
The date matters too. The year 1348 falls three years after the Amida Hall was finished in 1345. Townspeople set up this stupa in grounds that had only just recovered from the fire.
What to Look For at the 1348 Stupa
The Jodoji Hokyointo stands at the eastern edge of the grounds beside the sutra stupa dated 1278. Seventy years separate the two, and you can compare them standing in one place.
From the front, find the cusped panel on the base first; it carries the statement of purpose, and the carving shows differently as the light moves. Then look up to the receiving platform between base and body, the regional feature. Compared with a hōkyōintō without one, the body here seems lifted a step higher.
Finish at the roof, where the upturned corner ornaments carry the syllables of the directional guardians.
Visiting the Jodoji Hokyointo Stupa
The Jodoji Hokyointo stands outdoors and can be seen free of charge whenever the grounds are open.
Keep your hands off the stone; inscriptions and seed syllables weather easily. The second Jodoji hōkyōintō, traditionally called "the grave of Ashikaga Takauji," stands on the south side of the grounds. Directions and admission are on the Jodoji Temple page.
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Q&A
- When was the dated Jodoji Temple Hokyointo Stupa made?
- Its inscription is dated the first day of the 10th month of 1348, in the Nanbokuchō period.
- Why was the Jodoji Hokyointo built?
- According to the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education, for advance memorial rites for the novice Gyōen and three others, and for the memorial of Kōkō and others who had died.
- What regional feature does the Jodoji Hokyointo show?
- A receiving platform set between the base and the body, a trait of hōkyōintō in Iyo (Ehime) and southern Bingo.
- Does Jodoji have two Hokyointo stupas?
- Yes. This dated stupa at the eastern edge, and a second one on the south side long called the grave of Ashikaga Takauji. Each is designated separately as an Important Cultural Property.
- Is it free to see the Jodoji Hokyointo?
- Yes. It stands outdoors at the eastern edge of the grounds beside the sutra stupa and can be seen whenever the grounds are open.
Basic Information
| Name | Jodoji Temple Hokyointo Stupa (浄土寺宝篋印塔); the stupa dated 1348 |
|---|---|
| Location | Higashikubo-cho, Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | 1953 (August 29) |
| Quantity | 1 stupa |
| Dimensions | Stone hōkyōintō; height 3.2 meters (Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education) |
| Owner | Jodoji Temple |
| Public Access | Outdoors in the grounds; free to view |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Jodoji Hokyointo (dated 1348)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/3128
- Cultural Heritage Online: Jodoji Hokyointo
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/157665
- Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education: Cultural Properties of Onomichi (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/655404.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.27
