Chokoji Temple

Chokoji Temple

Chokoji Temple (朝光寺) in Hata, Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, said to have been founded by the monk Hodo, has a main hall of the Oei era (about 1413 to 1428) designated a National Treasure on March 20, 1954, and a late Kamakura bell tower designated as an Important Cultural Property on September 17 of that year (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The hall was also designated under the former law in 1923.

Records of the temple are scarce, but old panels from the altar date the main hall to the Oei era (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Two Properties

The main hall is seven bays square under a hipped tiled roof with a three-bay porch, in the eclectic style that adds Chinese-style doors and double blocks to the Japanese style. Inside it is divided into inner and outer sanctuaries, with a large shrine cabinet before the inner one. The Agency names it a typical Esoteric main hall of the early Muromachi period.

The bell tower is one bay square with a flared skirt and a hipped roof of copper sheet shaped like wooden shingles (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each property is described on its own page.

Visiting

According to a Kato City brochure, the grounds are open, and the main hall can be entered as far as the outer sanctuary from 8:00 to 16:00. It is about 15 minutes by car from Hyogo-Tojo IC on the Chugoku Expressway, with parking for about 20 cars; enquiries go to the temple office, tel. 0795-44-0735.