National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties · Nara

Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate

Todaiji Hokkedo North Gate: A Four-Legged Gate Built in 1240

Todaiji's Hokkedo North Gate, a four-legged gate of 1240 beside the temple's oldest hall: how the form works, its place in the Kamakura rebuilding and how to see it.

Designation National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties

Location Nara

Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate: A Kamakura Four-Legged Gate

The Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate (東大寺法華堂北門, Hokkedō Kitamon) is an early Kamakura-period Shikyakumon (four-legged gate) on the north side of the Hokkedō on the Jōin terrace of Todaiji in Zoshicho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, built in 1240 and designated an Important Cultural Property in 1903.

The Hokkedō is Todaiji's oldest building, a Nara-period main hall joined to a worship hall of 1199. The North Gate closes off its northern side and went up about forty years after that worship hall, a sign of how the Jōin's smaller buildings were being put in order in the early thirteenth century.

What Makes a Four-Legged Gate

The Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate has a gabled roof of clay tiles. In a four-legged gate, the two main pillars that hold the doors are braced by two supporting pillars in front and two behind; the four legs of the name are those supporting pillars.

Todaiji also has eight-legged gates built on the same principle, such as the Tegaimon and the Tozai Gakumon. Those are three bays wide; a four-legged gate is a single bay, and the Hokkedō North Gate is the scale of a side gate guarding the hall.

Date and Designation

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates the Todaiji Hokkedo Hall North Gate to 1240. The nearby Nenbutsu Hall dates from 1237, just three years earlier, which shows that some sixty years after the fire of 1180, building work had spread from the Great Buddha Hall to the Jōin and the bell tower hill.

The Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1903, under the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law of the time, on the same day as the Nenbutsu Hall and the Nigatsudō Akaiya. As a securely dated early Kamakura four-legged gate, it belongs with the Hokkedō to the Jōin group of buildings.

What to Look For

At the Todaiji Hokkedo North Gate, walk round to the side to see how the main and supporting pillars work together. From the front it is a one-bay gate; from the side you can see the supporting pillars standing fore and aft, four legs carrying the roof.

The gate stands on the side of the Hokkedō's Nara-period main hall. From near the gate you can see the hipped roof of that eighth-century hall, so a Kamakura gate and a Nara hall share one view.

Visiting the North Gate

The outside of the Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate can be seen free from the Jōin grounds. The temple's visitor information says nothing specific about passing through it.

The Hokkedō interior is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for a separate fee (800 yen for adults, checked October 2026). Directions and admission for the rest of Todaiji are on the Todaiji Temple page.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Nara: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate; [ Todaiji Great Buddha & Nara Park Deer Experience ]

Q&A

QWhen was the Todaiji Hokkedo Hall North Gate built?: AThe Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1240, in the early Kamakura period.

QWhat is a four-legged gate like the Todaiji Hokkedo Hall North Gate?: ATwo main pillars hold the doors, braced by two supporting pillars in front and two behind; the gate is one bay wide.

QWhere is the Todaiji Hokkedo Hall North Gate?: AOn the north side of the Hokkedō (Sangatsudō) on the Jōin terrace of Todaiji.

QWhen was the Todaiji Hokkedo Hall North Gate designated?: AIn 1903, on the same day as the Nenbutsu Hall and the Nigatsudō Akaiya.

QIs it free to see the Todaiji Hokkedo Hall North Gate?: AYes, the outside is visible free from the Jōin grounds. Entering the Hokkedō itself costs extra.

Basic Information

Name	Todaiji Temple Hokkedo Hall North Gate
Location	Zoshicho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Designation	Important Cultural Property
Year Designated	1903
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Four-legged gate, gabled roof, clay tiles
Owner	Todaiji Temple
Public Access	Exterior visible free from the grounds