Jodoji Temple (Ono)

Jodoji Temple (Ono): Chogen's Harima Outpost for the Rebuilding of Todaiji

Jōdo-ji (浄土寺, Jodoji Temple) in Kiyotani-cho, Ono City, Hyogo Prefecture is a temple founded by the monk Shunjōbō Chōgen, who led the rebuilding of Todaiji in Nara, and its precinct centers on the Jodo-do Hall, a National Treasure built in 1192 in the early Kamakura period, alongside the Yakushi Hall and the main hall and worship hall of its guardian Hachiman Shrine, all Important Cultural Properties. Because other temples share the name, including Jodoji in Onomichi, this site calls it Jodoji Temple (Ono). The district name 浄谷町 is read Kiyotani-cho in Japan Post's address data, not Joya.

Ono City explains that the land on the east bank of the Kako River became Ōbe-no-shō, an estate of Todaiji, around 1147. After the Taira clan burned Todaiji, Chogen was appointed chief fundraiser for its reconstruction. He redeveloped this estate as an economic base for the work, opened a branch establishment called the Harima Bessho here and built a temple: Jodoji. The Ono tourism association describes it as one of seven such outposts Chogen set up around Japan.

Sources give different dates for the first hall. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Jodo-do Hall to 1192, while Ono City says it was completed in 1197.

National Treasure and Important Cultural Properties at Jodoji

Four buildings in the Jodoji precinct are nationally designated. Names and dates follow the Agency for Cultural Affairs database.

• Jodo-do Hall (Amida Hall): early Kamakura period. Designated in 1901 and raised to National Treasure in 1952. With the Great South Gate of Todaiji, it is one of very few buildings to preserve the Daibutsu style.
• Yakushi Hall: rebuilt in 1517 and designated an Important Cultural Property in 1901. Since the Edo period it has been treated as the temple's main hall.
• Hachiman Shrine Main Hall: a middle Muromachi-period three-bay nagare-zukuri sanctuary, designated an Important Cultural Property in 1913.
• Hachiman Shrine Worship Hall: a large passage-type worship hall 7 bays long, designated an Important Cultural Property in 1901.

Inside the Jodo-do Hall stands a National Treasure triad of Amida with two attendants by the sculptor Kaikei. Statues and other art objects are outside the scope of this page, but they are the reason many visitors come. The Ono tourism association notes that the founder's hall and the bell tower are designated by Hyogo Prefecture.

How the Jodoji Precinct Is Laid Out

Jodoji arranges two Buddhist halls facing each other across an open court, with a shrine set at the back of the axis between them. The Jodo-do Hall stands on the west side facing east; the Yakushi Hall stands on the east facing west. The Ono tourism association explains that the west hall stands for the Western Pure Land of the afterlife and the east hall for the Eastern Pure Lapis Lazuli World of this life, and that the path down the middle is likened to the river separating the two.

At the head of that axis, where a main hall would normally stand, is the Hachiman Shrine. Ono City suggests the shrine was placed there because Hachiman was understood as a manifestation of Amida Buddha, a sign of how much weight Chogen gave to Hachiman worship. The worship hall stands in front, the main hall behind.

A good order is to climb the steps, look first at the shrine straight ahead, turn west to the Jodo-do Hall and then cross the court to the Yakushi Hall; the logic of the plan becomes clear on foot. The interior of the Jodo-do Hall is said to be at its finest when the late sun pours through its west shutters, so on an afternoon visit you may want to save it for last. Behind the temple, a forest path with a miniature Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage is lined with about 2,000 hydrangeas in early summer.

Visiting Jodoji: Hours, Fees and Access

According to the Ono tourism association, Jodoji is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (until 4:00 p.m. from October to March), and the halls cannot be entered on 31 December and 1 January. Admission is 500 yen (450 yen each for groups of 30 or more) and free for elementary school children and younger. Parking is free and takes large buses. Enquiries go to the sub-temples Kangiin and Hojiin.

By train, go to Ono Station on the Kobe Electric Railway Ao Line and take a taxi for about 10 minutes (about 4 km). From Kobe, board the Ao Line at Shinkaichi; from the west, take the JR Kakogawa Line to Ao and change to the Kobe Electric Railway. By car, leave the Sanyo Expressway at the Miki-Ono interchange, go straight and turn right at the Kiyotani-minami intersection; from the Chugoku Expressway, exit at Takino-Yashiro, head toward Ono and turn left at the same intersection.

Ono City's volunteer guide group, Ono Guide Himawari, offers tours of the precinct on request. Viewing conditions for each building, such as what can be seen inside the Jodo-do Hall or which parts of the Hachiman Shrine buildings are visible, are covered on the individual pages.