A bell tower in a boarded skirt
Engyoji Temple Bell Tower (円教寺鐘楼, Shoro) stands on Mount Shosha in Shosha, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on 14 April 1913. It measures three bays by two, carries an Irimoya-zukuri roof of Hongawarabuki tiles, and has a hakamagoshi skirt around its lower storey. It sits on high ground up the slope north of the Mitsunodo court.
A hakamagoshi is a boarded casing that flares outward as it descends, enclosing the lower part of a bell tower. Instead of exposed posts, the bottom half becomes a solid trapezoid, which from a distance reads as a stable two-tier composition. Engyoji Temple Bell Tower adds a bracketed cornice above that skirt, carrying the veranda of the upper storey on bracket sets.
The bronze bell hanging inside is designated by Hyogo Prefecture. Temple records claim it was cast in 1324, though Himeji City notes there is no firm evidence for the date.
Three opinions about its age
The thing to know about Engyoji Temple Bell Tower is that nobody agrees on when it was built. Three positions coexist.
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database assigns it to the late Muromachi period, giving a range of 1467 to 1572
- Himeji City dismisses as unverified the temple record of a fire in 1331 and a rebuilding in 1332, then dates the structure to the first half of the fourteenth century on the evidence of its bracketing and joinery
- The temple itself describes the style as late Kamakura
All three are stylistic estimates. No ink inscription or ridge tablet giving a construction date has come to light. This article follows the Agency for Cultural Affairs entry while recording the disagreement rather than smoothing it over. Standing in front of the building and deciding which reading convinces you is, if anything, part of the interest.
The designation itself is not in doubt: 14 April 1913, the same day as Daikodo and Kongodo. Engyoji Temple Bell Tower is one of the first three buildings on the mountain to come under national protection. A full dismantling repair was completed in 2001, and investigation during that work suggested the original roof may have been Hōgyō-zukuri, a pyramidal form.
Reading the brackets from below
Engyoji Temple Bell Tower is small, so it repays close looking. Start with the line of the skirt. The boarding opens outward as it falls and stops where it meets the ground. The angle is neither steep nor lazy, and that measured slope is part of what marks the building as a properly resolved example of the type.
Look up next and the bracketed cornice projects from the top of the skirt. Kumimono bracket sets carry the upper veranda, and a railing runs above them. These brackets are precisely what Himeji City cites in dating the building. Few places let you follow the reasoning of stylistic dating so directly on the object itself.
Trees surround the site, so there is nothing like the open sightline of the sand court. For a full view, look up from partway along the slope to the south, where the hipped-and-gabled upper roof and the skirt below it compose into a single frame.
Visiting
Engyoji Temple Bell Tower stands in the open and can be walked around at any time. The interior is closed and the bell cannot be rung. Hung in the upper storey, it is visible only in outline through the lattice from ground level.
The short climb north from the Mitsunodo court gets slippery after rain. Stone steps alternate with packed earth, so watch your footing.
Directions to the mountain and the conditions of entry are set out on the Shoshazan Engyoji Temple page. Engyoji Temple Bell Tower sits on the path linking the Mitsunodo to the Okunoin, so anyone continuing to the inner precinct should stop here on the way out rather than doubling back.
Q&A
- When was Engyoji Temple Bell Tower built?
- There is no settled answer. The Agency for Cultural Affairs says late Muromachi, 1467 to 1572; Himeji City argues for the first half of the fourteenth century on stylistic grounds; the temple describes the style as late Kamakura.
- What is the boarded skirt on Engyoji Temple Bell Tower?
- It is called hakamagoshi, a casing that flares outward around the lower storey instead of leaving the posts exposed. Combined with the bracketed cornice above it, this makes the building a fully developed example of the type.
- Can visitors ring the bell at Engyoji Temple Bell Tower?
- No. The interior is closed and the bell is not available to visitors. It hangs in the upper storey and can only be glimpsed through the lattice. The bronze bell is designated by Hyogo Prefecture.
- Where is Engyoji Temple Bell Tower?
- On rising ground north of the raked sand court of the Mitsunodo, on the path that continues toward the Okunoin.
- Has Engyoji Temple Bell Tower been repaired?
- Yes. A full dismantling repair was completed in 2001, during which investigators concluded the roof may originally have been a pyramidal hogyo form rather than the present hipped-and-gabled one.
Basic Information
| Name | Engyoji Temple Bell Tower |
|---|---|
| Location | 2968 Shosha, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property |
| Year Designated | 14 April 1913 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 3 bays wide, 2 bays deep, with a boarded hakamagoshi skirt |
| Owner | Engyoji Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior visible at all times; interior closed |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Engyoji Shoro (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/2257
- Engyoji Shoro (Himeji City)
- https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/kanko/0000001727.html
- Engyoji Keidai, the temple grounds (Himeji City)
- https://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/kanko/0000001716.html
Last verified: 2026.09.13
