What Is Chofukuji Temple Main Gate?
Chofukuji Temple Main Gate (長福寺山門, Chōfuku-ji Sanmon) is the front gate of Chofukuji, a Shinshu Otani-ha temple in Miyamoto Higashikata-machi, Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture; built in 1774, it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) of Japan on November 29, 2006. It is a timber four-legged gate (Shikyakumon) 4.5 meters wide, roofed in copper sheet (Dōban-buki).
The gate stands out in front of the main hall, on its west side, and serves as the entrance to a temple that faces west. The temple's chronology credits its construction to the monk Genshin. Of Chofukuji's two registered buildings it is the older, earlier than the hall by 81 years.
Why Chofukuji Temple Main Gate Was Registered
Chofukuji Temple Main Gate was registered as a structure that would be difficult to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives two reasons. A ridge tablet (Munafuda) survives and fixes the date of construction, and the carvings and incised ornament are worth a close look.
That ornament, called eyo, is the pattern of scrolls and curling leaves cut into the faces of beams and bracket ends. Its shapes changed from period to period, so carpenters' ornament is one of the ways historians date a building. Because its ridge tablet pins it to 1774, the Chofukuji gate offers a dated example of late eighteenth-century ornament in Echigo.
The Agency also notes the gate's heavy timbers and imposing stance. For a gate only 4.5 meters across, the posts and beams are generously thick, and that is the first thing you notice as you approach.
Posts, Rafters and Folding Walls at the Chofukuji Gate
Chofukuji Temple Main Gate is a single-bay gate with a single opening. In a four-legged gate, the doors hang between two main posts, and two auxiliary posts stand in front of and behind each one; those four auxiliary posts are the "legs" in the name.
The gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) is sheathed in copper, and the eaves use a double layer of closely spaced rafters (Taruki): two tiers projecting one above the other, each set at tight intervals. The result is a deep, shadowed eave. Stand under the gate and look up to see the two rows stacked overhead.
Walls (Sodobei) flank the gate on its north and south sides, and each one turns at a right angle. With these wings included, the gate reads not as a flat screen but as a structure with depth, clearly marking where the temple grounds begin.
Visiting Chofukuji Temple Main Gate
Chofukuji Temple Main Gate is the temple's front entrance, and you can view it from the space before it. Start square to the front to see how the gate and the two folding walls fit together. Then move in close to study the posts and the carved ornament around the beams, and finish by standing beneath the roof to look up at the double rafters.
There are no set visiting hours, so let the temple know before entering the grounds and avoid service days. Keep photography to the exterior. Directions and general visiting notes for the whole temple are on the Chofukuji Temple (Nagaoka) page.
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Q&A
- When was Chofukuji Temple Main Gate built?
- In 1774. A surviving ridge tablet confirms the date, and the temple attributes the gate to the monk Genshin.
- Why is Chofukuji Temple Main Gate a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered in 2006 as a structure difficult to reproduce, because its date is documented by a ridge tablet and its carvings and ornament are of note.
- What kind of gate is Chofukuji Temple Main Gate?
- A single-bay four-legged gate 4.5 meters wide, with a copper-clad gabled roof, double close-set rafters, and walls on both sides that turn at right angles.
- Which is older at Chofukuji, the main gate or the main hall?
- The gate, built in 1774. The main hall was rebuilt 81 years later, in 1855.
- Can I visit Chofukuji Temple Main Gate freely?
- The exterior can be seen from in front of the gate. There are no set hours, so check in with the temple before entering the grounds and photograph only the outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Chofukuji Temple Main Gate (長福寺山門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1592 Miyamoto Higashikata-machi, Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2006 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Frontage 4.5 meters (with flanking walls) |
| Owner | Chofukuji (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the front (no set visiting hours) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Chofukuji Main Gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005950
- Cultural Heritage Online: Chofukuji Main Gate (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/152555
- About Gagakuzan Chofukuji (temple website, Japanese)
- https://sites.google.com/site/gagakuzan/zhang-fu-sinitsuite
Last verified: 2026.10.03
