Ryukoji Temple Chozusha: Turtles, Waves and a Dragon from 1867
The Ryukoji Temple Chozusha (龍口寺手水舎, Ryūkō-ji Chōzusha) is a purification fountain pavilion built in 1867 in the grounds of Ryukoji Temple in Katase, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and it was listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2021 under registration number 14-296. The same kind of structure is often called a temizuya; the national database gives the reading chōzusha for this one.
It stands on the east side of the approach to the Great Main Hall, directly opposite the Myoken Hall, with its ridge running north to south. The pavilion is only 1 bay by 1 bay, with a floor area of 5.1 square meters, and the registration includes its stone water basin. As the temple explains, worshippers scoop water with a ladle here to cleanse body and mind before going on to pray.
Late-Edo Craftsmanship at the Ryukoji Chozusha
The Ryukoji Temple Chozusha was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a fountain pavilion that shows the virtuoso workmanship typical of the final years of the shogunate in detail after detail.
1867 was the year the last shogun returned power to the emperor. In temple and shrine building of that period, carved ornament had become ever more prominent, and even this 5.1-square-meter pavilion shows the tendency clearly.
A Gently Swelling Roof and Inward-Leaning Posts
The roof of the Ryukoji Temple Chozusha is a simple gable, or kirizuma roof, covered with interlocking sangawara tiles. Its slopes have mukuri, a slight upward swelling, which softens the outline compared with a straight-sided gable.
The framing follows the Zen style. The four posts are square in section, and each is set with Uchikorobi, leaning very slightly inward toward the top. The head tie beam that links the tops of the posts is covered with jimonbori, a continuous carved surface pattern.
The brackets are of the degumi type, projecting one step forward from the line of the posts, and they are arranged in the tsumegumi manner, filling the spaces between posts as well as sitting on top of them. For a pavilion only one bay square, the band of brackets under the eaves is remarkably dense.
Turtles on the Waves and a Dragon in the Gables
Two carvings stand out on the Ryukoji Temple Chozusha.
The first is on the kibana, the carved ends of horizontal beams where they project past the posts. Here they take the form of turtles riding on waves, a fitting subject for a building devoted to water. Because the kibana are beam ends, look for them around the corners of the pavilion.
The second is the gable ornament. In the triangular gables at the north and south ends, a dragon among clouds is carved fully in the round. It is not a relief on a flat board but a three-dimensional figure, so the overlapping of its head and coils shifts as you move.
Using and Viewing the Ryukoji Chozusha
The Ryukoji Temple Chozusha faces the approach and anyone may use it. After rinsing your hands, step back a little and look up: the packed brackets under the eaves and the carved beam ends at the corners come into view together.
The cloud-dragon carvings sit at the two ends of the ridge, on the south and north faces. The photographs in the national database were taken from the southwest and the south, and the southern gable is easiest to study from that same side.
The surface carving on the head tie beam is fine, so stand beside a post and look just above eye level. When people are waiting to use the basin, view the pavilion from outside so as not to get in their way.
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Q&A
- When was the Ryukoji Temple Chozusha built?
- In 1867, at the very end of the Edo period.
- How is the name of the Ryukoji Temple Chozusha pronounced?
- The national database reads it Ryūkō-ji Chōzusha. Similar pavilions elsewhere are often called temizuya.
- What carvings can be seen on the Ryukoji Temple Chozusha?
- Turtles on waves on the projecting beam ends, a dragon among clouds carved in the round in the gables, and patterned surface carving on the head tie beam.
- Is the Ryukoji Temple Chozusha still used for purification?
- Yes. The temple describes it as the place where visitors scoop water with a ladle to cleanse body and mind.
- Where is the Ryukoji Temple Chozusha in the grounds?
- On the east side of the approach to the Great Main Hall, directly opposite the Myoken Hall.
Basic Information
| Name | Ryukoji Temple Chozusha (龍口寺手水舎) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2822 Katase 3-chome, Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2021 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 1 bay by 1 bay, floor area 5.1 square meters, with water basin |
| Owner | Ryukoji Temple Religious Corporation |
| Public Access | Faces the approach; open to view and use |
References
- Cultural Properties Database: Ryukoji Chozusha (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013699
- Ryukoji Chozusha (Cultural Heritage Online, Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/541501
- About Ryukoji Temple (Jakkozan Ryukoji, Japanese)
- https://ryuukoji.com/about/
Last verified: 2026.09.15
