National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties · Nara

Todaiji Temple Middle Gate

Todaiji Middle Gate: The 1714 Rōmon Framing the Great Buddha Hall

Todaiji's Middle Gate, a five-bay rōmon of 1714 in front of the Great Buddha Hall: why it followed the hall, when its doors open and the window view of the Buddha.

Designation National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties

Location Nara

Todaiji Temple Middle Gate: The Edo-Period Gate Before the Great Buddha Hall

The Todaiji Temple Middle Gate (東大寺中門, Chūmon) is a two-level rōmon gate built in 1714, in the mid-Edo period, directly in front of the Great Buddha Hall at Todaiji in Zoshicho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture, and designated an Important Cultural Property in 1900.

Walk north from the Great South Gate and the vermilion Middle Gate fills the view ahead. The Great Buddha Hall rises behind it, and corridors running out from either side of the Chūmon close off the hall's forecourt. The straight line of Great South Gate, Middle Gate and Great Buddha Hall preserves the axis of the eighth-century temple.

Built Right After the Great Buddha Hall

After the Great Buddha Hall burned in 1567, the monk Kōkei's rebuilding began with the hall itself, which was consecrated in 1709. The temple's history notes that the Middle Gate and corridors took about thirty more years to finish. The Todaiji Middle Gate came first in that sequence; the Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1714, and the gate was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1900.

The two Tozai Gakumon gates in the corridors followed in 1719 and 1722, and the east and west corridors between 1716 and 1737. Enclosing the forecourt again took a little over twenty years.

A Five-Bay Rōmon Gate

The Todaiji Temple Middle Gate is five bays wide with three openings, under a hip-and-gable roof of clay tiles. It is a rōmon: a two-level gate with no roof over the lower level, only a balcony around the upper storey and a single roof above. Compared with the Great South Gate, a two-roofed nijūmon of the same width, it looks quite different.

Because the corridors join it on both sides, the Chūmon works less as a free-standing gate than as the centrepiece of the enclosure around the Great Buddha Hall. From the avenue, the huge roof of the hall shows above the gate, which makes the difference in scale between the two buildings obvious.

What to See at the Middle Gate

The doors of the Todaiji Middle Gate are normally shut, and visitors cannot pass through. According to the temple, the gate opens from midnight to 8:00 a.m. on New Year's Day, when the Great Buddha Hall can be visited free. The window on the front of the hall is opened at the same time, and from the platform of the Middle Gate the Buddha's face appears framed within it.

The gate also opens on the evening of the lantern service on 15 August (entry to the hall is charged). On ordinary days, the view of the Great Buddha Hall through and above the Chūmon from the avenue is one of Todaiji's classic compositions.

Visiting the Todaiji Middle Gate

The outside of the Todaiji Temple Middle Gate can be seen free from the avenue. The entrance to the Great Buddha Hall is on the left (west) side of the gate, and visitors enter the corridor enclosure there; from inside, you can see the back of the gate.

A guard post in front of the Middle Gate lends wheelchairs for visiting the Great Buddha Hall (no reservations). Hours, fees and directions are on the Todaiji Temple page.

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

Q&A

QWhen was the Todaiji Middle Gate built?: AThe Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to 1714. It was built after the Great Buddha Hall, which was consecrated in 1709.

QCan you walk through the Todaiji Middle Gate?: ANormally its doors are closed. It opens from midnight to 8:00 a.m. on New Year's Day and on the evening of the lantern service on 15 August.

QWhat kind of gate is the Todaiji Middle Gate?: AIt is a rōmon, a two-level gate with a balcony around the upper storey and a single roof, five bays wide with three openings.

QWhen can you see the Great Buddha's face from the Todaiji Middle Gate?: AFrom midnight to 8:00 a.m. on 1 January, the front window of the Great Buddha Hall is opened, and the face can be seen framed in it from the platform of the Middle Gate.

QWhere is the Great Buddha Hall entrance near the Todaiji Middle Gate?: AIt is on the left (west) side of the Middle Gate. Wheelchair users can enter by the slope there.

Basic Information

Name	Todaiji Temple Middle Gate
Location	Zoshicho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Designation	Important Cultural Property
Year Designated	1900
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Five-bay, three-opening rōmon gate, hip-and-gable roof, clay tiles
Owner	Todaiji Temple
Public Access	Exterior visible free from the avenue. Doors open on New Year night and other set days