Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well, a small well house inside the cloister
Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well (總持寺祖院白山井戸, Hakusan Ido) is a well and well house built around 1912 at Sōjiji Soin in Monzen, Monzen-machi, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 7, 2008. The well house collapsed in the Noto Peninsula earthquake of January 1, 2024, and its members are now dismantled and in storage.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs places the Hakusan Well inside the cloister, to the west of the front of the Daisodō. Over a well framed with a square timber curb (igeta) stood an open-sided well house one bay square, roofed in pan tiles (Sangawara-buki) in the pyramidal Hōgyō-zukuri form that gathers all four slopes to a single point. It covered 5.3 square meters, with 2.3 meters between the posts on each side.
Sōjiji was rebuilt after the fire of 1898. The Daisodō and the Butsuden date from 1913, so the Hakusan Well was put up slightly earlier, at the end of the Meiji era, as the rebuilding of the grounds was getting under way.
Why Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well is registered
Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well carries registration number 17-0175 and is classed in the Agency's database as a structure rather than a building. It was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
The Agency's description singles out the light presence of the well house among the heavy buildings around it. The Daisodō is 30.3 meters across and the Butsuden 24.9 meters; the well house, about 2.3 meters on a side, sat at their feet. That contrast in scale was itself part of the scene inside the cloister.
Temple carpentry in miniature at Sojiji Temple Soin
Small as it was, the Hakusan Well house was finished with the same bracketing and eaves as a temple hall. Its four square posts were tied at the top by a head tie beam and a capping plate, carrying three-bearing brackets (Mitsudo-gumi). Between the posts, frog-leg struts (Kaerumata) filled the intervals.
The eaves used a single layer of rafters laid out as fan rafters (Ōgidaruki), spreading toward the corners in a radiating pattern. Fan rafters are a mark of the Zen style (Zenshūyō), and under a pyramidal roof they open like a fan, a detail best seen by looking up from inside the well house. The ceiling was coffered (Gō-tenjō).
With no walls, the well could be approached from all four sides. Bracketing, eaves and ceiling worked out as carefully as on the great halls, all packed under a roof of just 5.3 square meters, are what made the Hakusan Well worth a close look.
Collapse and planned repair of the Hakusan Well at Sojiji Temple Soin
The damage report the temple released on January 29, 2024 lists Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well as collapsed. According to the reconstruction office, the well house and the Zen'etsurō corridor were dismantled between July 16 and December 20, 2024 as emergency storage work for registered buildings, with each member labeled by number and position before going into a temporary storehouse.
Under the plan made when the reconstruction office was founded, the Hakusan Well is scheduled for repair from April 2032 to March 2033, at the same time as the Zen'etsurō.
Visiting the site of Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well
The well house of Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well is in storage and cannot be seen at present. It stood inside the cloister, west of the front of the Daisodō. Some parts of the grounds remain closed since the earthquake.
We could not confirm from the temple's published material what remains of the well curb on site, and there is no notice that the storehouse can be visited. Directions, opening hours and admission are on the Sojiji Temple Soin page.
Q&A
- What is Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well?
- An open-sided well house one bay square, built over a timber-framed well. It had a pyramidal tiled roof and temple-style details: three-bearing brackets, frog-leg struts, fan rafters and a coffered ceiling.
- When was Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well built and registered?
- It dates from around 1912 and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 7, 2008, as number 17-0175.
- Can I see the Hakusan Well at Sojiji Temple Soin today?
- Not the well house. It collapsed in the January 1, 2024 earthquake and was dismantled between July and December 2024; its members are in storage.
- When will the Hakusan Well at Sojiji Temple Soin be repaired?
- The temple's reconstruction plan schedules the repair from April 2032 to March 2033, together with the Zen'etsurō corridor.
- Where did Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well stand in the temple grounds?
- Inside the cloister, west of the front of the Daisodō. The temple's damage photographs show it alongside the Zen'etsurō corridor.
Basic Information
| Name | Sojiji Temple Soin Hakusan Well |
|---|---|
| Location | Ichi 2-1 and others, Monzen, Monzen-machi, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2008 (registered March 7, 2008) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, area 5.3 square meters, 2.3 meters between posts on each side |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Daihonzan Sojiji Soin |
| Public Access | Not viewable: collapsed in the 2024 earthquake and dismantled into storage (repair planned for 2032 to 2033) |
References
- Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sojiji Soin Hakusan Well
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006830
- Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sojiji Soin, Daisodo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/00005607
- Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sojiji Soin, Butsuden
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/00005608
- Sojiji Soin: Damage from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake (Japanese)
- https://noto-soin.jp/news/71/
- Sojiji Soin: Reconstruction Office Report No. 1 (Japanese)
- https://noto-soin.jp/news/90/
- Sojiji Soin: Reconstruction Office Report No. 2 (Japanese)
- https://noto-soin.jp/news/91/
Last verified: 2026.10.04
