Jōonji Temple, Amagasaki: A 1623 Main Hall and the City's Only Tahōtō
Walk into the temple quarter of Amagasaki and one building announces itself before you reach the gate: a small two-storied pagoda with a white, dome-like middle and a circle of slender pillars under its upper roof. This is the tahōtō of Jōonji, a Nichiren-school temple whose mountain name is Daigyōzan. Two of its structures carry the rank of national Important Cultural Property, the Main Hall and the pagoda, both designated together on 21 May 1974.
The temple's full local reading is Jōonji (the national database also records the reading Chōonji). It sits on a quiet street in Teramachi, the district where the lords of Amagasaki gathered their temples in the early seventeenth century.
From Hokke-ji to Jōonji: seven centuries of moves
According to the temple's own origin record, the Daigyōzan Engi, Jōonji was founded in 1350 by the priest Nichion at a place called Nanatsumatsu. It was later re-established in the Tatsumi area of the old Amagasaki town, in what is now the Higashi-Honmachi neighbourhood, where it went by the name Hokke-ji, the "Lotus Temple."
A document from 1572 confirms the temple already stood there at the close of the warring-states age. In a protective edict issued that year, Oda Nobunaga refers to "Jōonji at Ichiba-Tatsumi within Amagasaki, Settsu Province," fixing both the temple's location and its standing at the time.
The decisive move came in 1617. When Amagasaki Castle was built, the temples scattered across the town were relocated to form a single religious quarter, and Jōonji was carried to its present site. The Main Hall and the pagoda were rebuilt here, and the temple has remained in Teramachi ever since.
Why two buildings, one designation
The reason the Agency for Cultural Affairs treats the Main Hall and the tahōtō as a pair is simple. Surviving examples where an early-modern main hall and its pagoda both remain on the same precinct are uncommon, and Jōonji keeps the two as a matched set from the turn of the seventeenth century. That completeness is the heart of its value.
Both buildings also wear the look of the Momoyama period, the brief, ornate age between the warring-states century and the long Edo peace. The carving and proportions point to that moment, even where the documented construction dates fall a little later.
The Main Hall: a Nichiren-school plan in wood
The Main Hall measures five bays across the front and six bays in depth, under a hip-and-gable roof covered with formal hongawara tiles. A single-bay kōhai, a projecting canopy that shelters the worshipper at the entrance, marks the centre of the façade.
Two ridge tablets survive inside, one dated 1598 and one dated 1623. The repair carried out between 1981 and 1983 settled the question of age: the hall as it stands was built in 1623, on this very site, not moved here from elsewhere.
Climb the three wooden steps at the front and the details reward a slow look. The stair is flanked by sloping balustrades capped with onion-shaped finials, and a veranda with the same finial railing wraps all four sides. The canopy posts are square with chamfered edges; the columns of the hall proper are round. Inside, the central three-bay square forms the inner sanctuary, with flanking bays on either side, and a Buddhist altar platform set toward the rear, its upper portion picked out in colour. The layout follows the pattern particular to Nichiren temples, and its restored floor plan reads as a building caught between medieval and early-modern habits.
The tahōtō: a travelling pagoda that turned to face east
A tahōtō is a distinctly Japanese form of Buddhist pagoda, square below and round above, built to house Tahō Nyorai, the "Buddha of Many Treasures" from the Lotus Sutra. Jōonji's is the only one in Amagasaki.
It was first raised in 1607 at the temple's earlier precinct in Tatsumi, with its front facing west. When the temple moved in 1617, the pagoda moved too, and was reassembled facing east instead. That reversal was not recorded in writing; it came to light only when the building was dismantled for repair after the 1995 earthquake.
The lower storey is a three-bay square, ringed by a veranda with the familiar finial railing. Beneath that veranda swells the kamebara, a quarter-round mound finished in white plaster that gives the tahōtō its characteristic profile. Above, twelve round pillars stand in a ring to carry the upper roof. The bracketing and the frog-leg struts under the eaves are the elements scholars read as Momoyama work.
Visiting: the temple quarter and getting there
Jōonji stands at 10 Teramachi, about 450 metres southwest of Hanshin Amagasaki Station. The surrounding Teramachi is a rare survival of a planned Edo-period temple district, with neighbouring temples such as Honkō-ji and Daikaku-ji within easy walking distance, so an afternoon here can take in several precincts on foot.
The Main Hall and pagoda were badly shaken by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995 and underwent a three-year restoration, which is why their structures have been studied so closely in recent decades. Both are religious buildings in active use, so the interiors are not always open; the grounds and the exteriors, including the pagoda that draws the eye from the street, can be appreciated at any reasonable hour. For access to the buildings or to confirm current conditions, contact the temple in advance.
Amagasaki Castle, rebuilt in 2019, and the city's history museum lie a short walk away, and together they help explain why these temples ended up clustered where they are.
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Q&A
- How do I read the temple's name?
- Locally it is read Jōonji, written with characters meaning "long and distant." The national cultural-property database lists the reading as Chōonji, so you may see both forms.
- Which buildings are the Important Cultural Properties?
- The Main Hall, rebuilt in 1623, and the tahōtō pagoda, first built in 1607. Both were designated together in 1974. The bell tower, guest hall, and priests' quarters are separately listed as Hyōgo prefectural cultural properties.
- What makes the pagoda special?
- It is the only tahōtō in Amagasaki, and an unusual case of a pagoda relocated and turned to face east during a move. Its white plaster kamebara mound and ring of twelve upper pillars are textbook features of the form.
- Can I go inside the buildings?
- The temple is in active use and interiors are not routinely open to casual visitors. The precinct and the pagoda's exterior are visible from the grounds. Contact the temple ahead of time if you wish to see more.
- How do I get there?
- From Hanshin Amagasaki Station, walk roughly 450 metres southwest into the Teramachi district. The pagoda is visible from the street near the entrance.
Basic Information
| Name | Jōonji (Daigyōzan Jōonji), Nichiren school |
|---|---|
| Designated properties | Main Hall (with 2 ridge tablets); Tahōtō pagoda (with 5 ridge tablets) |
| Designation | National Important Cultural Property (buildings), designated 21 May 1974 |
| Main Hall | 5 bays by 6 bays, hip-and-gable roof, formal tile roofing, one-bay step canopy; built 1623 |
| Tahōtō | Three-bay square, two storeys, formal tile roofing; built 1607, reassembled facing east in 1617 |
| Address | 10 Teramachi, Amagasaki City, Hyōgo Prefecture |
| Owner | Jōonji |
| Access | About 450 m southwest of Hanshin Amagasaki Station |
| Note | Active temple; interiors not routinely open. Restored over three years after the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: Jōonji Main Hall
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/201279
- Cultural Heritage Online: Jōonji Tahōtō
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/195010
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Jōonji Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/2352
- Amagasaki City: Jōonji Main Hall
- https://www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/manabu/bunkazai_0/1028308/1028310/1028859.html
- Amagasaki City: Jōonji Tahōtō
- https://www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/manabu/bunkazai_0/1028308/1028310/1028860.html
- Amagasaki City: Historic Sites Walk, Jōonji
- https://www.city.amagasaki.hyogo.jp/manabu/bunkazai_0/1028308/1028344/1028720.html
Last verified: 2026.05.29