Honganji Temple Karamon Gate

The Gate Where One Forgets the Day Is Ending

The Honganji Temple Karamon Gate (本願寺唐門) is the Momoyama-period Karamon gate of Honganji (Nishi Honganji) in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1953 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a four-legged gate with cusped gables front and back, hip-and-gable sides and a cypress-bark roof.

According to the Agency, a record of the rebuilding of 1618 says the gate originally stood in front of the Goeido and was moved to its present site that year.

Form

According to the Agency, it is a four-legged gate with cusped gables front and back and curved rafters throughout, while both sides are hip-and-gable, the same form as the Karamon of Toyokuni Shrine, also a National Treasure.

Honganji describes it as a four-legged gate with a cypress-bark roof and cusped gables, covered in lavish Momoyama carving.

What to Look For

The Agency calls it, with its intricate carving and rich colour, the representative surviving example of the finest Momoyama Karamon.

Honganji notes its nickname, the Higurashi-mon, the gate where one forgets that the day is ending, and that it was restored from June 2018 to September 2021.

Visiting the Honganji Temple Karamon Gate

Honganji runs free guided tours of the precinct four times a day, open to all.

The temple's history and visiting information are on the Honganji group page.