A small gate dividing the grounds
Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate is a late Edo period gate in Hase, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, dated between 1751 and 1829 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2009.
It stands beside the Treasure Storehouse and separates the approach from the terrace of the Main Hall. The form is a Yakuimon, one bay wide with a single opening, built in timber under a tiled roof. The opening is only 2.8 metres across. Short walls extend to either side, each fitted with a small door.
Where the Nio Gate marks the outer edge of the temple, Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate divides the grounds a second time. Visitors climbing the steps reach the forecourt of the Main Hall only after passing through it.
Plain outside, unusual in its framing
Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate was listed for its contribution to the historic landscape. Standing beside the Treasure Storehouse along the stairway, it frames and interrupts the view of anyone climbing.
The framing, however, is not ordinary. Main posts and rear posts are both round, and the head tie that joins them projects forward past the main posts. On that projection a three-block bracket set with a carved nose is assembled across the depth of the gate, and the beam rests on it. Supporting a beam on brackets carried outside the line of the columns is what the national database calls a special construction.
At the back the treatment changes: three-block sets are ranged continuously along the length. Front and rear of the same small gate are framed by different logic, so it reads differently depending on which side you stand.
Stop under it and look up
The way to see Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate is not to walk straight through. Look up and you meet the projecting end of the head tie in front of the main post, with the bracket set above it. The detail is unusual for a gate of this type, and it explains why so modest a structure was listed at all.
The flanking walls run a short distance to either side and cut off the view from the approach. The small door at the end of each wall is the way in when the main leaves are shut. Providing two ways through, the gate and the wicket, comes straight from the daily working of the temple.
An opening 2.8 metres wide takes two adults side by side. Because the squeeze comes immediately after the last of the steps, the forecourt beyond feels wider than it is.
Seeing Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate
Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate stands on the approach itself, so it can be walked through without any booking. Anyone heading for the Main Hall passes under it.
There is no restriction on the gate. To look at the framing, stand in the middle of the passage and look straight up. Backing against the stone base of the Treasure Storehouse to the west gives a side view of the whole gate.
The temple website gives no rule on photography. Directions and reception hours are on the Chokokuji Temple page.
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Q&A
- How old is Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate?
- The national database dates it to the late Edo period, between 1751 and 1829.
- Where is Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate?
- Beside the Treasure Storehouse, near the top of the stone stairway, dividing the approach from the Main Hall terrace.
- What kind of gate is Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate?
- A yakuimon, in which rear posts stand behind the main posts and both carry the roof. This one is a single bay with an opening 2.8 metres wide.
- What is unusual about the framing of Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate?
- The head tie projects in front of the main posts and carries a bracket set that supports the beam. At the rear, bracket sets run continuously along the length instead.
- Can I walk through Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate freely?
- Yes, it sits on the approach and needs no booking. The flanking walls each have a small wicket door.
Basic Information
| Name | Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 13 Hase Toyo, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2009 (Heisei 21) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-bay yakuimon gate, opening 2.8 metres wide, with flanking walls and wicket doors |
| Owner | Chokokuji Temple, a religious corporation |
| Public Access | Open to pass through at any time |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Chokokuji Temple Inner Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007742
- Sado City: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, Chokokuji Temple
- https://www.city.sado.niigata.jp/site/bunkazai/4964.html
- Chokokuji Temple: Visitor Information
- https://sado-choukokuji.jp/guidance/
Last verified: 2026.09.14
