The Great Hall of the Oyama Pilgrimage
The Oyamadera Temple Main Hall (大山寺本堂) is the main hall of a Shingon temple of 1885 in Oyama, Isehara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 6, 2024 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber hall with a copper-sheet roof and a building area of 248 square metres, altered in 1967; registration number 14-0341.
A Hall Halfway up Mount Oyama
The Oyamadera Temple Main Hall faces east halfway up Mount Oyama and serves a temple of the Shingon school (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is five bays square under a hip-and-gable roof of copper sheet shaped like tiles.
The front 2 bays form the outer sanctuary and the back 3 the inner sanctuary and side chapels, the plan of an Esoteric Buddhist hall, and stout columns crowd the grand interior (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Kanagawa Prefecture notes that the temple, loved locally as the Fudo of Oyama, is one of the three great Fudo temples of the Kanto region and is said to have been founded in the Nara period.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency notes that the front porch under its cusped gable overflows with carving, beginning with the dragons on the beam ends, and calls the hall a large modern Buddhist building that records the heyday of the Oyama pilgrimage; it was registered as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the carving that fills the front porch, above all the dragons on the beam ends (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Kanagawa Prefecture notes that the temple also keeps an iron figure of Fudo with two attendants, an Important Cultural Property shown only on set days.
Visiting
According to Kanagawa Prefecture, the temple is open from 9:00 to 17:00 and free of charge, about 3 minutes on foot from Oyamadera Station on the Oyama Cable Car.
Q&A
- When was the main hall built?
- In 1885 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What should I look for?
- The carved front porch, especially the dragons on the beam ends.
- What kind of temple is Oyamadera?
- A Shingon temple of Fudo, one of the three great Fudo temples of the Kanto region (Kanagawa Prefecture).
- How do I get there?
- It is about 3 minutes on foot from Oyamadera Station on the Oyama Cable Car.
- When was the Oyamadera Temple Main Hall registered?
- On March 6, 2024 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Oyamadera Temple Main Hall (大山寺本堂) |
|---|---|
| Location | 727 Oyama, Isehara City, Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2024/03/06 (Reiwa 6) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, copper-sheet roof, 248 m² |
| Owner | Oyamadera Temple |
| Public Access | Open for worship (9:00 to 17:00, free; Kanagawa Prefecture) |
References
- Oyamadera Temple Main Hall (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014773
- Tanzawa and Oyama area sights (Kanagawa Prefecture, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/ph7/cnt/f7631/documents/tanzawaohyama.html
Last verified: 2026.10.20