A Meiji Gate Carved in Granite
The Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate (本山寺冠木門, Motoyama-ji Kabukimon) is a stone gate built in 1910 within the grounds of Motoyamaji Temple in Motoyama, Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture, and was entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 19 December 2014. A kabukimon is a gate of two posts joined at the top by a crossbeam, the kabuki, which gives the type its name.
It opens onto the east side of the Main Hall and is 4.4 metres wide. Side posts stand to the left and right of the main opening, each framing a smaller pedestrian gate, so the eastern entrance to the Main Hall is given a broad, formal front. It dates from 1910, the same year Motoyamaji rebuilt its five-storied pagoda.
Why It Was Registered
Six of the seven Motoyamaji structures registered in 2014 were listed for contributing to the historic landscape. The Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate alone was registered under a different criterion: structures that would be difficult to reproduce.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to the precision with which carefully dressed granite has been fitted together. A gate type normally built of timber has been translated entirely into stone, posts, beam and roof alike, with detail that stands up to a wooden gate. Making the same thing again to the same standard today would be hard, and that is the basis of the registration.
What to Look For
The main posts are rectangular in section, heavily chamfered at the corners, and taper slightly toward the top. Tapering the posts makes the gate look taller and more tightly drawn than it is.
The crossbeam spanning the posts is wrapped with a band along its upper edge and carved with a mokko motif, a lobed quatrefoil used on wooden buildings and furniture, here cut into hard granite.
On top sits a karahafu roof, the bow-shaped gable that swells in the middle and flips up at the ends, rendered in stone rather than tile or timber. From a distance the gate reads as wooden; up close the texture of the stone takes over. That shift is the pleasure of the Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate.
Visiting
The gate serves as the eastern entrance to the Main Hall area, and its exterior can be viewed freely. To take in the curve of the karahafu and the carving on the crossbeam, stand back a little in front of the gate and look up.
The taper and chamfering of the main posts are clearest from beside a post, looking up. The tooling on the granite surface reads best when the light falls at an angle. We found no official rule against photographing the exterior, but please keep clear of worshippers passing through and follow any signs on site.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagawa
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate
- [ Naoshima Art Island & Kotohiragu Shrine Visit ]
Q&A
- When was the Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate built, and when was it registered?
- It was built in 1910 and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 19 December 2014, under registration number 37-0414.
- Why was the Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate registered?
- It is a stone gate of carefully dressed and precisely fitted granite, and was registered under the criterion for structures that would be difficult to reproduce. It is the only one of the seven Motoyamaji structures registered at the same time to which that criterion applies.
- How large is the Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate?
- It is 4.4 metres wide, with side posts to the left and right of the main opening, each framing a smaller pedestrian gate.
- What should I look for at the Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate?
- The heavily chamfered main posts that taper toward the top, the mokko motif carved on the crossbeam, and the bow-shaped karahafu roof, all rendered in granite in the manner of a wooden gate.
- Where is the Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate within the temple grounds?
- It opens onto the east side of the Main Hall. Together with the Nio Gate to the south and the Great Gate on the eastern side, it is one of three gates at Motoyamaji.
Basic Information
| Name | Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate (本山寺冠木門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1760-1 Shinden, Motoyama-ko, Toyonaka-cho, Mitoyo City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2014/12/19 (Heisei 26) |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Stone, 4.4 metres wide, with side posts on both sides |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Motoyamaji |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the temple grounds; no admission fee |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Motoyamaji Kabuki Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010374
- Mitoyo City: List of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.city.mitoyo.lg.jp/kakuka/kyouikuiinkai/shogai/3_1/history_bunnkazai/13938.html
- Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage Association: Shippozan Jihoin Motoyamaji (Japanese)
- https://88shikokuhenro.jp/70motoyamaji/
Last verified: 2026.09.26
