Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda

What the Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda is

Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda (教王護国寺五重塔, the Gojūnotō of Tō-ji, also written Kyōōgokoku-ji) is an early Edo-period wooden pagoda in the southeast of Tō-ji in Kujo-cho, Minami Ward, Kyoto City, completed in 1644 and designated a National Treasure in 1952.

It is a five-storied pagoda three bays square on every level, roofed in Hongawarabuki tiles. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives its total height as 54.8 meters, the tallest of any surviving wooden tower in Japan. Tō-ji rounds that to about 55 meters and calls it Kyoto's landmark, the tower travelers see from the south-side windows of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

A pagoda descends from the Indian stupa, a monument built to hold relics of the Buddha. According to Tō-ji, this one holds relics that Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi) brought back from Tang China.

From Kūkai's appeal to the fifth pagoda

Tō-ji says that Kūkai turned to the pagoda after the Lecture Hall but lacked both money and labor. On November 24, 826, he petitioned the court for help hauling the timber he had found in the Higashiyama hills. The first pagoda was finished in 883, after Kūkai's death. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates its founding to the Tenchō era, 824 to 834.

Lightning and other fires destroyed the pagoda four times, and each time it was rebuilt. The present Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda is the fifth. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, after the fire of 1641 construction ran from the twelfth month of that year until the seventh month of 1644, under master carpenter Nakai Masazumi. The shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu backed the work, and the agency describes it as a rebuilding by the shogunate.

The same database lists the date field as 1643, one year earlier than the completion date in its own commentary. This article follows 1644, where the commentary and Tō-ji agree.

Why it is a National Treasure

The Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda was first protected on December 28, 1897, under the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law, a date the Agency for Cultural Affairs records as its Important Cultural Property designation. It became a National Treasure on November 22, 1952.

The agency values its consistent use of the traditional Japanese wayō style, unusual for the Edo period. It rises from a stone-faced platform, has no surrounding veranda, and is three bays square on every story. The brackets step out three times, small struts fill the spaces between posts, and there are no decorative add-ons such as carved beam ends.

The timbers are also heavy. Early Edo Kyoto produced a number of buildings with thick members and deliberately old-fashioned forms, and the agency ranks this pagoda as a masterpiece among them. Together with its height, its well-balanced outline has made it a symbol of the old capital.

Inside the first story, and details at its base

The normally closed first story of the Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda is a brightly painted esoteric Buddhist space. The central pillar runs down into it, and Tō-ji treats that pillar as Dainichi Nyorai, the cosmic Buddha. The four Buddhas of the Diamond Realm surround it, joined by eight bodhisattvas. The four main pillars carry Diamond Realm mandala paintings, the side pillars show the Eight Dragon Kings, and the walls depict the eight patriarchs who passed Shingon teaching down to Kūkai.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the painting is restrained, which is unusual for the Edo period.

Outside, look first under the lowest eaves. Tō-ji's website shows the small demon figure (jaki) at the pagoda's northwest corner, and finding these little figures tucked beneath the corner timbers is part of the fun.

Then step back and look up. The balanced silhouette the agency praises is easiest to appreciate from a distance where you can take in all five roofs at once. From the edge of the pond inside the ticketed garden, you can see the pagoda across the water.

Visiting the Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda

You can see the Kyoogokokuji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda at close range from inside the same ticketed area as the Golden Hall and Lecture Hall. Its upper stories are also visible from outside the temple, along Kujō-dōri.

The first-story interior opens only during special periods. In 2026 these are January 1 to March 18 (the New Year viewing and the Kyoto Winter Special Opening), April 25 to May 25, and October 31 to December 13. Hours are 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. with last entry at 4:30 p.m., and adult admission including the Golden Hall and Lecture Hall is 1,200 yen (checked on the Tō-ji website on September 15, 2026).

Follow on-site guidance on photography inside the first story. Opening periods change from year to year, so check Tō-ji's special exhibition page before you go.