Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Okayama

Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu

Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu: 5 Stone Shrines of 1892 in a Row

Five identical stone shrines of 1892 in a row on a long stone platform behind the Akibagu sanctuary at Hofukuji in Soja, Okayama. Registered in April 2009.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Okayama

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.

The registration number of the Gosha Myojingu is 33-0225. Unlike the main hall and worship hall, which the records date only to the middle of the Meiji era, it has a firm date: 1892.

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. Each shrine is closed at the front by a board door, so a visit means viewing the row from in front of the platform.

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.

The temple and tourism pages say nothing specific about photography; simply avoid blocking the front of the shrines when others come to pray. To fit all 5 in one frame, step back a little from the front of the platform.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Okayama: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu; [ Kurashiki Bikan District & Korakuen Garden Tours ]

Q&A

QWhat is the Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu?: AIt is a row of 5 identical stone shrines set on a stone platform behind the Akibagu main hall at Hofukuji, built in 1892.

QWhen was the Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu registered as a cultural property?: AOn April 28, 2009, as number 33-0225, for its contribution to the historic landscape.

QHow big are the stone shrines of the Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu?: AEach is 0.62 m wide and 0.68 m deep; the 5 together give a building area of 2.1 square meters.

QHow are the Hofukuji Akibagu Gosha Myojingu shrines constructed?: AEach 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.

QWhere is the best place to see the Hofukuji Temple Akibagu Shrine Gosha Myojingu?: AFrom in front of the long stone platform behind the Akibagu main hall, where the 5 shrines can be seen side by side in the open.

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