Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu: Five Stone Shrines in a Row
The Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu (寶福寺秋葉宮五社明神宮, Hōfukuji Akiba-gū Gosha Myōjin-gū) is a row of 5 stone shrines built in 1892 behind the sanctuary of the Akibagu at Hōfukuji, a Zen temple in Ijirino, Soja City, Okayama Prefecture, and it was entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on April 28, 2009.
A long stone platform runs east to west behind the Akibagu main hall, and on it stand 5 miniature shrines of identical size and design. Each is 0.62 m across the front and 0.68 m deep. Each sits on a stone footing, is enclosed by stone slabs at the sides and back, closes at the front with a plank door, and is capped by a hip-and-gable roof in the Irimoya-zukuri form whose eaves lift gently at the tips. The name Gosha Myojingu simply means a shrine of 5 myojin, or bright deities.
The registered building area is 2.1 square meters, and the arithmetic is neat: multiply one shrine's footprint, 0.62 by 0.68 m, by 5 and you arrive at that figure. The area counts the shrines themselves, not the platform. Among the 5 registered structures at the Akibagu, only the Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu (1892) and the purification pavilion (1894) have an exact construction year on record; the rest are dated simply to the mid-Meiji era.
Why It Was Registered
The Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs writes that the row of shrines gives a sense of calm to the Akibagu grounds.
That judgment makes sense on site. Everything else at the Akibagu climbs: the long stair from the south, then the worship hall, the connecting hall and the sanctuary, each a little higher and deeper than the last. The stone platform and its 5 equal shrines end that upward movement with a low horizontal line. A single small shrine would barely register in the view; 5 of them, evenly spaced, draw the back edge of the precinct.
Hofukuji belongs to the Tofukuji branch of Rinzai Zen and is known as the temple where the painter Sesshu trained as a boy. After it was burned during the civil wars, it was rebuilt from the Edo period onward, and 24 of its structures are now registered. The registration number of the Gosha Myojingu is 33-0225.
What to Look For
Take in the Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu as a group first, then walk along the row and compare. The dimensions and design are uniform, but the texture of the stone, the patches of moss and the weathering of each plank door are not. More than 130 years of rain on the same hillside have given each shrine its own face.
Look at the roofs from the side. The stone eaves turn up slightly at the ends, a curve borrowed from timber roofs and carved into a far less forgiving material. The lift is easier to see in profile than head-on.
Then compare the row with the main hall in front of it. There, the carpenters lavished bracket sets and dragon carvings on a single-bay sanctuary; here, the masons chose plain, repeated forms. Wood against stone, ornament against restraint: the Akibagu holds both within a few steps.
Visiting
The Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu stands in the open behind the Akibagu main hall, in the northwest of the temple grounds. The temple is open from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., and no admission fee is set for walking the grounds.
From the center of the temple, head northwest and climb the stone stairway between retaining walls to reach the Akibagu worship hall; the stone shrines lie farther back, behind the sanctuary. Leave the shrine doors untouched and view them from the front.
By public transport, it is about half an hour on foot from JR Soja Station. By car, allow roughly a quarter of an hour from the Okayama Soja interchange; parking holds 75 cars. The temple and tourism pages say nothing specific about photography; simply avoid blocking the front of the shrines when others come to pray. Autumn color usually peaks in mid-November.
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Q&A
- What is the Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu?
- It is a row of 5 identical stone shrines set on a stone platform behind the Akibagu main hall at Hofukuji, built in 1892.
- When was the Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu registered as a cultural property?
- On April 28, 2009, as number 33-0225, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- How big are the stone shrines of the Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu?
- Each is 0.62 m wide and 0.68 m deep; the 5 together give a building area of 2.1 square meters.
- How are the Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu shrines constructed?
- Each has a stone footing, stone slab walls at the sides and back, a plank door at the front and a hip-and-gable roof with gently lifted eaves.
- Can I visit the Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu freely?
- Yes. It stands outdoors and can be seen during temple hours, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no admission fee.
Basic Information
| Name | Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu |
|---|---|
| Location | 2068-4 Ijirino, Soja City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2009 (Heisei 21), registered |
| Quantity | 1 site (5 stone shrines) |
| Dimensions | Stone; 5 stone shrines on a platform, each 0.62 m wide and 0.68 m deep; building area 2.1 square meters |
| Owner | Hofukuji (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Outdoors, open to view (no admission fee) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007686
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/143448
- Soja City: Hofukuji Registered Buildings (24 structures)
- https://www.city.soja.okayama.jp/soshiki/26/2960.html
- Soja City: Hofukuji Three-Story Pagoda
- https://www.city.soja.okayama.jp/soshiki/26/2878.html
- Okayama Kanko Web: Hofukuji
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_10821.html
Last verified: 2026.09.10