Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower

What Is Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower?

Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower (長徳寺鐘楼, Chōtoku-ji Shōrō) is the belfry beside the approach between the gate and the main hall at Chotokuji in Daieicho, Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture; it dates from the Meiji period (1868 to 1912) and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 27, 2017.

It is a small tiled timber structure on a raised stone platform, with a building area of just 10 square meters, the smallest of the five registered buildings at Chotokuji. It stands on the east side of the approach and faces south, turning its side to people walking in and its front toward the main hall.

Two Records of Its Date

The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower to the Meiji period, both in its database and in the 2017 registration papers. Shibata City's list of cultural properties, however, places it in the early Showa period.

This article follows the Agency. The published sources do not show what either date is based on, so the dating of Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower may be revised by future study.

How the Frame Is Put Together

The posts of Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower are square, finished with a stepped chamfer on each corner known as kichomen-dori, and they stand on stone bases. A lower tie beam and an upper head tie shaped like a curved Kōryō beam lock them together, and a flat plate runs round the top.

Between the bracket sets, the intermediate supports are Kaerumata frog-leg struts, and the ceiling inside is coffered, Gō-tenjō. The building covers only 10 square meters, yet its members follow the assembly of a full-scale hall.

Carving Only Where It Is Seen

The most telling detail of Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower is where the carving goes. The tie beams carry relief patterns of waves and chrysanthemums only on the side facing the approach; the other faces are left plainer.

The roof is hip-and-gable, Irimoya-zukuri, and each gable end carries a ridge pendant board, a Gegyo, carved with a wave motif. The Agency reads these choices as an emphasis on the front. The same thinking that concentrated the dragon rafters on the face of the main hall shows up here on a much smaller scale.

The bell tower was registered as number 15-463 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.

Seeing Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower

Chotokuji Temple Bell Tower stands right beside the approach, so its exterior can be studied freely once you are in the grounds. Look for the wave and chrysanthemum carving from the approach side, then go round to a gable end for the pendant board. Comparing the approach side with the far side makes the difference in carving obvious.

The temple gives no information on whether visitors may strike the bell or on any New Year's Eve bell ringing. Contact Chotokuji if you want to know. Directions to the temple are on the Chotokuji Temple page.