Muryoji Temple Bell Tower

About Muryoji Temple Bell Tower

Muryoji Temple Bell Tower (無量寺鐘楼堂, Muryō-ji Shōrōdō) is the Shōrō of a Sōtō school Zen temple in Aida, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture; dated by its ridge tag to 1815, it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on November 10, 2005.

It is a small, one-bay-square structure standing directly south of the main hall, with a building area of 7.4 square meters. It rises from a low podium of dressed stone, and its lower part is wrapped in a flared Hakamagoshi skirt.

The sources disagree on its date. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database follows the Munafuda ridge tag and gives 1815. Matsumoto City says it was rebuilt after the fire of 1808, between 1810 and 1812, along with the main hall and priests' quarters.

Why Muryoji Temple Bell Tower Was Registered

The bell tower was registered as no. 20-0196, as a model of design. The same ridge tag names the carpenter, Miyashita Jirōshichi of Izumozaki. For a building this small, having the year and the builder recorded on one board is an unusually complete record.

The gabled roof in the Kirizuma-zukuri form runs its ridge north to south and is laid with Sangawara-buki pantiles. The posts are cut to an octagonal section and left open between, with no walls, and a Kōran railing runs around all four sides.

Carved Gable Brackets and Leaning Posts

Get close to the gable ends. A roughly finished beam carries a short ridge post, flanked by carved Oigata brackets. The structural timbers are left plain, and the ornament is concentrated in those brackets.

Because the ridge runs north to south, the gables face north and south. Walking up toward the main hall, the southern gable and its brackets are the first thing you see.

Matsumoto City describes the plan as 9 shaku square and the posts as set in the shihō-korobi manner, leaning slightly inward on all four sides. The taper of the octagonal posts is easier to catch from a corner than straight on.

Visiting Muryoji Temple Bell Tower

Open on all sides, Muryoji Temple Bell Tower can be seen in full from outside. It stands directly in front of the main hall, so you pass it on the way in.

There is no published information on whether visitors may ring the bell, or on bell-ringing events such as New Year's Eve. Do not strike the bell without the temple's permission. Directions and contact details are on the Muryoji Temple page.