Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda: the smallest outdoor pagoda in Japan
Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda (室生寺五重塔, Murōji Gojū-no-tō) is an early Heian period pagoda in Muro, Uda City, Nara Prefecture, listed as an Important Cultural Property in 1897 and designated a National Treasure in 1951.
It stands on a terrace reached by a steep flight of steps behind the Main Hall. The pagoda has 5 storeys, measures 3 bays across at the first storey, and is roofed in cypress bark. Its height is about 16 metres, which Uda City describes as the smallest of any five-storied pagoda standing in the open air. The Agency for Cultural Affairs commentary calls it a small pagoda of a little over 15 metres, so the published figures differ slightly.
According to the Agency, the style and technique of Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda place its construction no later than the early Heian period, not long after the temple itself was founded. It is the oldest building in the precinct.
Why smallness is the point
A five-storied pagoda is normally a statement about resources. Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda works the other way. The first storey is only 3 bays wide, and a visitor arriving at the top of the steps can take in the whole structure, from the plinth to the tip of the finial, without moving.
Nothing has been simplified to achieve that. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the bracketing as a proper mitesaki, a three-stepped system, the most thorough way of carrying eaves out from a wall and the same one used on the pagodas of the great monastery complexes. This is not a scale model. It is a full pagoda built small.
Uda City points out the archaic details. The bearing blocks and bracket arms are tall in proportion and the blocks are shallowly hollowed. The base rafters are round in section and the flying rafters square, and their spacing is not the same on all four sides. The slight irregularity is part of the evidence for an early date.
The Agency's database gives 28 December 1897 for the Important Cultural Property listing and 9 June 1951 for the National Treasure designation.
What to look for at Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda
Look at the finial first. A Japanese pagoda usually carries an openwork flame ornament above its nine rings. Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda has none. Uda City records that instead of the flame ornament it bears a sacred vase and a canopy, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs notes the finial as a design without parallel. Anyone who has looked at a lot of pagodas stops here.
The second thing worth knowing is that this pagoda was once badly broken. The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties records that in September 1998 a typhoon brought down trees in the precinct and the northwest corner of Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda was smashed from the first storey through the fifth. Repairs were completed and a dedication service was held over three days from 21 October 2000.
Standing below it now, you cannot tell the rebuilt corner from the other three. The bark roofs and the vermilion timbers read as one piece of work. The falling tree is said to have missed the central pillar, leaving the pagoda upright and repairable rather than lost.
For a season, rhododendron suits the pagoda well. Nara Prefecture's tourism site records roughly 3,000 plants along the route from the Nio Gate up the Yoroizaka to the pagoda, flowering from mid-April to mid-May.
Visiting Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda
Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda stands in the open and can be approached freely within the ordinary admission. The interior is closed and cannot be entered, so the usual way to see it is to walk the plinth and take it from all four sides.
Photography is allowed. Nara Prefecture prohibits photographing Buddhist statues but places no restriction on buildings, plants and scenery in the precinct.
There are two useful positions. From the foot of the steps the roofs compress into each other and the pagoda photographs larger than it is. From the terrace itself, at eye level, you get what actually distinguishes Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda: the upper storeys diminish very little, so the silhouette rises almost vertically. To capture the vase on the finial you will need a long lens from directly beneath.
The stairway to the left leads on to the Okunoin. Directions to the precinct, opening hours and the admission charge are set out on the Muroji Temple page.
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Q&A
- How tall is Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda?
- About 16 metres. Uda City gives a little over 16 metres and calls it the smallest five-storied pagoda standing in the open air. The Agency for Cultural Affairs commentary says a little over 15 metres, so published figures differ.
- When was Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda built?
- No document gives the year. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it on stylistic grounds to no later than the early Heian period, shortly after the temple was founded. It is the oldest building at Muroji Temple.
- What is unusual about the finial of Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda?
- It has no openwork flame ornament. Uda City records a sacred vase and a canopy in its place, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the design as without parallel.
- I heard Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda was damaged by a typhoon. What is its condition now?
- It has been repaired. A typhoon in September 1998 brought down trees that smashed the northwest corner from the first storey through the fifth. Repairs were completed and a dedication service was held over three days from 21 October 2000.
- Can I go inside Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda, and may I take photographs?
- The interior is closed to visitors. Photographing the exterior is allowed. Photographing Buddhist statues anywhere in the precinct is prohibited, so take care not to aim into the halls.
Basic Information
| Name | Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda |
|---|---|
| Location | Muro, Uda City, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | National Treasure and Important Cultural Property |
| Year Designated | National Treasure in 1951; Important Cultural Property in 1897 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | 5 storeys, 3 bays wide at the first storey, about 16 metres tall |
| Owner | Muroji Temple |
| Public Access | Stands outdoors and viewable on general admission; interior closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Muroji Temple Five-Storied Pagoda
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/2762
- Uda City: Nationally Designated Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.uda.lg.jp/soshiki/41/1075.html
- Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties: completion of repairs to the Muroji Temple five-storied pagoda
- https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/nenshi/7921.html
- Nara Prefecture: Muroji Temple Route
- https://www.pref.nara.lg.jp/masumasu/2490.html
- Nara Prefecture Official Tourism Site: Muroji Temple
- https://yamatoji.nara-kankou.or.jp/01shaji/02tera/03east_area/muroji/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
