About Gansenji
Gansenji (岩船寺) is a Shingon Ritsu temple at Iwafune, Kamo-cho, Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture, whose three-storey pagoda of 1442 was designated an Important Cultural Property on April 5, 1899, and whose late Kamakura thirteen-storey stone pagoda, stone shrine and five-ring pagoda followed on November 22, 1952. Its mountain name is Koyusan and its cloister name Hoon-in (Gansenji).
According to the temple, it lies in Tono on the border between Kyoto and Nara and was shaped by the Buddhism of Nara. The name Tono ("pagoda ridge") is said to come from the many temples whose pagodas and stone towers lined the ridges. It became a branch of Saidaiji in 1881 and is known as a "temple of flowers".
Four Important Cultural Properties
The three-storey pagoda, three bays square with a tiled roof and about 18 metres tall, stands on high ground south of the main hall facing east. During its dismantling repair in 1943 an inscription dated 1442 was found on a purlin (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Gansenji).
The granite thirteen-storey pagoda, 5.5 metres tall, is said to have been raised in 1314. The stone shrine has two square front posts carrying a single-stone hipped roof, with Fudo Myoo carved on its back slab and an inscription of the Ocho era. The five-ring pagoda, a little over 2 metres tall, is in the Yamato style (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Gansenji).
Visiting Gansenji
Gansenji is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from March to November and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from December to February, every day. The admission offering is 500 yen for adults, 400 yen for junior and senior high school students and 200 yen for primary pupils (Gansenji). There is no parking in the grounds.
Take the Kizugawa City community bus from JR Kamo Station on the Kansai Main (Yamatoji) Line, about 16 minutes to the Gansenji stop. Seasonal buses also run from Nara (Gansenji).
References
- Gansenji (official website)
- https://gansenji.or.jp/
- Visiting and access (Gansenji)
- https://gansenji.or.jp/access.html
- Gansenji Three-Storey Pagoda (Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/2034
- Gansenji Thirteen-Storey Stone Pagoda (Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/2035
- Gansenji Stone Shrine (Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/2036
- Gansenji Five-Ring Stone Pagoda (Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/2037
Last verified: 2026.10.07
Basic Information
| Name | Gansenji (Kizugawa) |
|---|---|
| Location | Iwafune, Kamo-cho, Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Owner | Gansenji |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (4) |
| Coordinates | 34.71996, 135.88600 |
