Kasuga Shrine Bell Tower

What the Kasuga Shrine Bell Tower Is

Kasuga Shrine Bell Tower (春日神社鐘楼, Kasuga Jinja Shoro) is an 1830 belfry in the grounds of Mikasayama Kasuga Shrine in Bungotakada City, Oita Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 28, 2011. It stands south of the worship hall, facing the kagura hall across the approach. A Buddhist-style bell tower at a Shinto shrine is a survival from the centuries when kami and buddhas were worshipped together, a fusion known as Shinbutsu-shūgō.

It is a single-storey timber structure with a tiled roof and a footprint of 7.4 square metres, one bay square on a cut-stone base. The lower part is wrapped in a flared enclosure called a hakamagoshi, after the pleated trousers it resembles, and above it sits a hip-and-gable roof (Irimoya-zukuri) of round-and-flat tiles (Hongawarabuki). Square posts are tied at the top by a head beam and a plate, carry three-bearing brackets, and have carved frog-leg struts (Kaerumata) between them. The rafters (Taruki) are closely spaced, and they are left exposed inside as well.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the Kasuga Shrine Bell Tower for preserving the look of an Edo-period precinct in which Shinto and Buddhism were intertwined. When the Meiji government separated the two in the late 19th century, many shrines removed their bell towers and other Buddhist features, so one that stayed put is a record in itself.

The Kunisaki Peninsula is known for Rokugo Manzan, a network of mountain temples where kami and buddha worship grew closely together, and the shrine itself presents the bell tower as evidence of that heritage.

It is also the oldest of the three buildings around the approach: five years older than the kagura hall of 1835 and 15 years older than the Shinmon gate of 1845.

What to Look For

Start with the flared hakamagoshi. It gives the lower half of the building a skirted silhouette, and because a full hip-and-gable roof of heavy tiles sits on a plan only one bay square, the roof looks weighty for the tower's height.

Up at the tops of the posts, look for the three-bearing brackets and the carved frog-leg struts. Step under the eaves and look up to see the finished rafters continuing inside. At about 7.4 square metres it is a small building, but the detailing is careful throughout.

Visiting the Bell Tower

The Kasuga Shrine Bell Tower stands on the west side of the approach, and its exterior can be seen freely whenever you visit. The skirt is best seen from the path and the rafters from beneath the eaves. Directions and general visiting information are on the Mikasayama Kasuga Shrine page.