A Kyoto Pagoda Standing on a Yokohama Hill
The Three-Story Pagoda of the Former Tomyoji Temple (旧燈明寺三重塔, Kyū-Tōmyōji Sanjū-no-tō; the temple name is also written Tōmyō-ji) stands in Sankeien Garden in Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on 14 December 1931.
It was not built here. The pagoda originally rose in the precinct of Tōmyō-ji, a temple in what is now the Kamo district of Kizugawa City, at the southern edge of Kyoto Prefecture. That temple went through cycles of decline and revival over the centuries, changed its Buddhist affiliation more than once, and had fallen into serious disrepair by the late nineteenth century. Today the site retains little more than Goryō Shrine, which once functioned as the temple's guardian shrine.
Hara Tomitarō (1868–1939), a Yokohama raw-silk trader who wrote under the art name Sankei, bought the pagoda and had it taken apart, shipped east, and re-erected on a hill in his garden in 1914. Sankeien had already been opened to the public in 1906. The arrival of the pagoda changed how the rest of the garden was laid out: sightlines from the interiors of Rinshunkaku and Chōshūkaku were arranged so that the tower appears framed from within those buildings.
One detail of the move survives in the garden's records. The shinbashira, the long central pillar that runs up the core of the structure, could not be manoeuvred around a curve in the road during transport. It was cut, carried in pieces, and joined back together at the time of re-erection. In a Japanese pagoda the central pillar does not carry the weight of the roofs, which is why such a drastic step was possible at all.
Why the Pagoda Was Designated
Sankeien describes it as the oldest designated wooden pagoda in the Kantō region, and that scarcity is the starting point of its value. Timber towers of this age survive in reasonable numbers around Kyoto and Nara. East of the Hakone barrier they are close to absent.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the structure as sangen sanjū tōba, hongawara-buki: three bays wide on each face, three storeys, roofed in the formal combination of broad concave pantiles and semi-cylindrical cover tiles. Overall height is reported at roughly 24 metres. The detailing follows wayō, the older Japanese manner inherited from continental models of the Nara and Heian periods, rather than the zenshūyō style that arrived with Zen in the thirteenth century. The eaves curve upward only slightly, and the taper from the first storey to the third is gradual, so the tower reads as solid rather than soaring.
Dating is where the sources part company. The Agency's database assigns the pagoda to the early Muromachi period and gives a bracket of 1333 to 1392. Sankeien itself, along with Yokohama's tourism material, states that it was built in Kōshō 3, corresponding to 1457, which falls a good deal later in the same era. Visitors will find both figures in circulation, and the discrepancy has not been resolved in the public record.
The designation date of 1931 predates Japan's current heritage law. The tower was listed under the pre-war system, and its status was carried over as an Important Cultural Property when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties took effect in 1950.
The building has not passed through the twentieth century untouched. On 10 June 1945, during the bombing of Yokohama, a near miss damaged it with blast pressure and fragments. Partial dismantling and repair followed in 1954, with major work continuing into 1955. There was a second correction as well: for forty-three years after the move the pagoda faced south, and only when specialists examined it after the war was the original orientation identified. In 1956 the tower was turned ninety degrees to face east, and a new approach path was cut to match.
What to Look For, and a Warning About Timing
Stand directly beneath the eaves and look up. The underside is the part of the building that repays attention: stacked bracket complexes, called tokyō, transfer the load of the deep overhang back onto the frame, and the rafters run out from them in even ranks. During Sankeien's evening illumination events the lighting reaches this underside, which is in shadow by day.
Look at the roof tiles as well. Some carry the characters 東明寺, an earlier writing of the temple's name from the medieval period when it operated as a Tendai establishment. The change to 燈明寺 came in the Edo period along with a change of school. Both the pagoda and the temple's main hall, which now stands lower down in the same garden, kept the older name in their tilework.
The tower is bare timber today, but repair records from the 1950s suggest it once wore colour: red across the body, ochre on the cut ends of the rafters, green on the lattice windows. No decision has yet been taken on restoring it.
The interior is closed. Sankeien keeps its historic buildings shut to visitors as a general rule, opening a few of them for specific events, and the pagoda is seen from the outside only.
Views of it, on the other hand, are everywhere. The classic one is from the path along the large pond just inside the main gate, with the tower on the ridge opposite. A short flight of steep steps brings you up to the hill itself, where a small lookout takes in the pond and the main hall below. The pagoda is also visible from the bayside expressway and from Honmoku Sanchō Park outside the garden.
Anyone planning a visit specifically to see it should check the calendar first. A five-year conservation project is under way. Seismic diagnosis began in January 2026, reinforcement planning and detailed design followed in the spring of that year, temporary works and dismantling are scheduled from around 2027, repair and reassembly from around 2028, and completion is planned for fiscal 2029. The garden has stated plainly that the pagoda will be out of sight from roughly 2027 while the work proceeds. The last comparable overhaul was seventy years ago, and inspection found cracked and broken members where loads concentrate, along with uneven settlement of the stone platform that has left the whole tower twisting slightly out of true.
Sankeien opens from 9:00 to 17:00, with last admission at 16:30, and closes for a few days at the end of December. Admission is 900 yen for adults and 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students, though rates and hours change and are worth confirming before you travel. From JR Negishi Station on the Keihin-Tōhoku and Negishi lines, municipal buses bound for Honmoku leave from stand 1 and take about ten minutes to the Honmoku stop, followed by a walk of roughly ten minutes. From the east exit of Yokohama Station, buses on routes 8 and 148 run to the Sankeien-iriguchi stop, about five minutes on foot from the front gate. Photography for personal use is unrestricted; commercial shoots require advance permission, and drones are not allowed on the grounds. Walking the whole garden takes about two hours.
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Q&A
- Why does the Three-Story Pagoda of the Former Tomyoji Temple stand in Yokohama instead of at its original temple in Kyoto?
- Tōmyō-ji, in what is now Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture, had declined badly by the Meiji era. The Yokohama silk trader Hara Tomitarō, known as Sankei, purchased the pagoda and had it dismantled and re-erected in his garden in 1914. The original temple no longer exists.
- Can visitors go inside the Three-Story Pagoda of the Former Tomyoji Temple?
- No. Sankeien's historic buildings are generally closed to the interior, and the pagoda is viewed from outside. A few structures in the garden open during special events, but the pagoda is not among the regular ones.
- When was the Three-Story Pagoda of the Former Tomyoji Temple built, and when was it designated?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs places it in the early Muromachi period, 1333 to 1392, while Sankeien gives Kōshō 3, or 1457. It was designated on 14 December 1931 under the pre-war system and became an Important Cultural Property under the 1950 heritage law.
- Will repair work stop me from seeing the Three-Story Pagoda of the Former Tomyoji Temple?
- Very likely, if you visit after 2027. A five-year conservation project began in 2026, and the garden expects the pagoda to be hidden from view from around 2027 during temporary works and dismantling, with completion planned for fiscal 2029.
- How do I reach the Three-Story Pagoda of the Former Tomyoji Temple, and what does entry cost?
- The pagoda is inside Sankeien Garden. Take a municipal bus from stand 1 at JR Negishi Station to Honmoku, about ten minutes, then walk ten minutes. Admission is 900 yen for adults and 200 yen for school-age children; the garden opens 9:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:30.
Basic Information
| Name | Three-Story Pagoda of the Former Tomyoji Temple (旧燈明寺三重塔) |
|---|---|
| Location | Sankeien Garden, 58-1 Honmoku Sannotani, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (national) |
| Year Designated | 14 December 1931 |
| Quantity | 1 pagoda |
| Dimensions | Three bays square, three storeys (sangen sanjū tōba), hongawara tile roof; overall height reported at about 24 m |
| Owner | Sankeien Hoshokai Foundation |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable within the garden; interior closed. A conservation project is expected to obscure the pagoda from around 2027 until roughly fiscal 2029. |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs — Former Tomyoji Three-Story Pagoda
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/584
- Cultural Heritage Online — Former Tomyoji Three-Story Pagoda
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/121394
- Sankeien Garden — Former Tomyoji Three-Story Pagoda
- https://www.sankeien.or.jp/learn/facilities/toumyouji_sanju/
- Sankeien Garden — Visitor Information
- https://www.sankeien.or.jp/price-service/
Last verified: 2026.08.13