An Open Belfry in the Zen Manner
Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower (正行寺鐘楼, Shōgyō-ji Shōrō) is a late Edo-period belfry, built between about 1830 and 1868 on the eastern side of the grounds of Shogyoji in Nagazoe, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, just south of the main gate, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 21, 2013. It is a timber structure under a hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) roof of Sangawara-buki pantiles, with an area of 8.1 square meters.
The tower stands on a raised stone platform built up from courses of stones laid in rows, with its ridge running east to west. It is open on all four sides, a form known as fukihanashi, so you can see straight between the posts to the far side.
The floor area works out at roughly 5 tatami mats. It is a small building, yet in density of detail it holds its own against anything else in the grounds.
Brackets and Registration of the Shogyoji Bell Tower
The Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower is registration number 44-0203, listed as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a belfry that gives a Shin Buddhist temple its characteristic layout. Along with the main hall and the gate, a bell tower is one of the elements that make a Shin temple complete.
Its frame is based on Zenshūyō, the Zen style of building that reached Japan from China in the Kamakura period. Three features are commonly used to recognize that style: stone column bases called soban, a thick plate called a daiwa laid across the tops of the posts, and bracket sets placed between the posts as well as on them. The Shogyoji belfry has all three.
Its round posts stand on stone soban, and the bracket sets sit on the daiwa above.
Those brackets are what the Agency calls distinctive. They are Mitsudo-gumi, three-bearing bracket sets, each fitted with an odaruki, a tail rafter that angles out from the bracket and deepens the eaves. They are arranged in the tsumegumi manner, packed along the whole length of the daiwa rather than only above the posts.
The ceiling is a coved and coffered Gō-tenjō, curved up at the edges before the grid begins. It is the same type of ceiling the main hall uses, here fitted into a small open belfry.
What to Look For at the Shogyoji Bell Tower
At the Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower, lift your eyes to the eaves first. Because brackets fill the spaces between the posts, the row on top of the daiwa runs unbroken, with the ends of the tail rafters jutting out at regular intervals. Compare it with the main hall, whose brackets sit only at each post, and the difference in density is plain.
Then look down. The stone soban under the round posts are a typical Zen-style detail, and together with the stone platform they reward a slow look.
Because the tower is open, you can also see up to the coffered ceiling from as close as you are able to stand.
Seeing the Shogyoji Bell Tower
The Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower is on the eastern side of the grounds. Standing on the approach and facing the gate, look off to your left, to the south, before you pass through.
No booking or fee is mentioned, and we found no temple guidance on photography. The temple has not published whether a bell currently hangs here or whether visitors may ring it, so do not touch the structure or any bell. It is also not stated whether visitors may step onto the platform, so it is safest to look from outside it.
Transport options and the temple's contact details are on the Shogyoji Temple page.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower
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Q&A
- When was the Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower built and registered?
- The Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower dates from the late Edo period, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs gives as 1830 to 1868. Its date of registration as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property is June 21, 2013.
- Where is the Shogyoji Bell Tower in the temple grounds?
- On the eastern side of the grounds, just south of the main gate. Facing the gate from the approach, it is off to your left.
- What is special about the brackets of the Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower?
- Three-bearing bracket sets with tail rafters are packed along the top plate between the posts as well as above them, in the tsumegumi manner. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls this arrangement distinctive.
- What architectural style is the Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower?
- Its frame is based on the Zen style (zenshuyo), with round posts on stone bases and brackets on a top plate. It has a hip-and-gable pantile roof and is open on all four sides.
- Can visitors ring the bell at the Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower?
- We found no notice saying visitors may ring a bell at the Shogyoji Bell Tower, and the current state of the bell is not published. Please do not touch the structure or bell, and view it from outside the platform.
Basic Information
| Name | Shogyoji Temple Bell Tower (正行寺鐘楼) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1148-1 Oaza Nagazoe Shiroyashiki, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), Registration No. 44-0203, criterion: contributing to the historic landscape of the country |
| Year Designated | Registered on June 21, 2013 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Wooden, tiled roof, area 8.1 square meters; hip-and-gable roof, open-sided |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Shogyoji Temple |
| Public Access | Stands on the eastern side of the grounds; exterior can be viewed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Shogyoji Bell Tower
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009687
- Cultural Heritage Online: Shogyoji Bell Tower (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/273603
- Nakatsu City: List of National, Prefectural and Municipal Cultural Properties (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city-nakatsu.jp/doc/2024101700025/file_contents/shiteibunkazai.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.15
