Renjoji Temple Bell Tower: A Small Belfry on Leaning Posts
Renjoji Temple Bell Tower (蓮乗寺鐘楼, Renjō-ji Shōrō) is a late Edo-period belfry, built between 1830 and 1868, in the southeast corner of Renjoji, a Nichiren Buddhist temple in Ōno, Miyama-cho, Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture, and was entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2019.
It is a timber structure with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof of Sangawara-buki tiles, and it covers just 5.2 square meters, about the size of three tatami mats. It stands immediately to your right as you pass through the main gate, facing north into the temple grounds.
Four square posts rise from foundation stones. Beneath the ridge of the roof, a curved hanging beam carries the temple bell. The upper part is open so the bell can be seen and heard; the lower part is closed in with boards. For a village temple, it is about as economical as a belfry gets.
Why It Was Registered
The bell tower was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as plain, yet notes that together with the main gate it tightens the temple's street frontage. Gate and belfry side by side on the south edge of the site are, in effect, the temple's public face.
The details repay attention. The posts are not set plumb but lean slightly inward toward the top, a technique called Uchikorobi, and they are locked together by two tiers of horizontal Nuki tie beams. Splaying the feet this way steadies a structure that has to carry a heavy bell. Boards line the lower part between the posts on all four sides, the eaves use a single row of widely spaced rafters, and a carved Gegyo hangs from each gable.
Because ornament is kept to a minimum, the structural thinking is on full view: the lean of the posts, the curve of the bell beam. The Renjoji Temple Bell Tower lets you see how a rural belfry of the late Edo period was put together, with little later alteration to get in the way.
What to Look For
This building is easier to read from an angle than head-on. Stand off to one side and follow the line of the posts, and the inward lean of all four becomes obvious as they draw together toward the roof.
Then look up under the roof. The bell beam just below the ridge is a curved timber rather than a straight one, and its bowed form takes the weight of the bell. The gegyo on the gable end is almost the only decoration on the whole structure.
Notice, too, how it sits beside the gate. Seen from outside the grounds, the gabled roof of the yakuimon gate and the gabled roof of the belfry read as one continuous frontage along the south side of the temple.
Visiting the Bell Tower
The Renjoji Temple Bell Tower stands right beside the main gate and is the first thing you see on entering. It is not a building you go inside; the structure can be understood entirely from the exterior.
The bell is used for temple services and should not be rung without permission. Please also stay outside the boarded enclosure and avoid touching the posts. Note that the registration covers the belfry building itself; public records do not give a date for the bell that hangs in it. Directions and general visiting information are on the Renjoji Temple page.
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Q&A
- When was Renjoji Temple Bell Tower built?
- It dates from the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1868. The national database records its date simply as late Edo.
- What kind of cultural property is Renjoji Temple Bell Tower?
- It was registered as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) on December 5, 2019, as registration no. 26-0592. The main hall, Banshin Hall and main gate were registered the same day.
- Can visitors ring the bell at Renjoji Temple Bell Tower?
- No. The bell is used for temple services, so please do not ring it without permission. Visitors should view the bell tower from outside.
- What is the leaning-post technique at Renjoji Temple Bell Tower?
- Called uchikorobi, it means setting the posts so they lean slightly inward toward the top. The wider footing steadies the frame under the weight of the bell. The lean is easiest to see from the side.
- Where is Renjoji Temple Bell Tower within the temple grounds?
- It is in the southeast corner, immediately to the right of the main gate as you enter, facing north. Together with the gate, it forms the temple's south frontage.
Basic Information
| Name | Renjoji Temple Bell Tower (蓮乗寺鐘楼) |
|---|---|
| Location | 13 Onoannotani, Miyama-cho, Nantan City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2019/12/5 (first year of Reiwa), registration no. 26-0592 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Area 5.2 square meters; timber structure |
| Owner | Renjoji Temple |
| Public Access | Not a regularly open site; viewed from the temple grounds |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Renjoji Bell Tower (蓮乗寺鐘楼)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013135
- Cultural Heritage Online: Renjoji Bell Tower
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/452120
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs Recommendation, July 19, 2019 (Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Buildings)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/91972801_01.pdf
- Nantan City: List of Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.nantan.kyoto.jp/www/life/112/013/000/index_71573.html
Last verified: 2026.09.26
