Hongenji Temple: Five Buildings at the Mori Family Temple in Tsuyama
Hongenji Temple (本源寺, also written Hongen-ji) is a Rinzai Zen temple of the Myoshinji branch in Odanaka, Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, whose main hall raised in 1607 and four other buildings were designated an Important Cultural Property in 2013.
The temple was the family temple (bodaiji) of the Mori clan, the first lords of the Tsuyama domain. Its roots lie in the Ankokuji of Mimasaka Province, which stood in what is now the Kanbe district of Tsuyama. When Mori Tadamasa took over the province in 1603, he moved the temple to the hills of Odanaka, and in 1607 he settled it on its present site under the name Ryuunji. The current name came in 1683, at the 50th memorial of Tadamasa's death, and is taken from his posthumous Buddhist title.
The designation covers five buildings at Hongenji: the main hall (hondo), the priests' quarters (Kuri), the mausoleum (tamaya), the mausoleum front gate and the middle gate. A wooden ridge tag (Munafuda) from the main hall is included as an appended item (Tsuketari).
The layout follows a north-south axis. An approach runs north from the outer gate on the south, passes through the middle gate and arrives at the main hall. The priests' quarters stand to the east of the main hall and connect to it by a roofed corridor. The Mori family graveyard lies northwest of the main hall, and the mausoleum faces south inside its own gate on the west side.
Before the national designation, the main hall and priests' quarters had been protected by Tsuyama City and the mausoleum and its gate by Okayama Prefecture, together with the Mori tombs and the stone-paved path, both from 2009. Four years later the five buildings passed into national protection as a single designation.
Why Hongenji Temple Is an Important Cultural Property
The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out the way the complex survives as a set: a main hall going back to the Keicho era, laid out as an abbot's residence, together with the priests' quarters, the middle gate and a richly carved mausoleum. In the Agency's assessment, Hongenji is an early example of a Rinzai temple built by a provincial daimyo family for its own memorial rites.
The main hall measures 25.3 meters by 18.9 meters. It is not a Zen Buddha hall but a Hōjō, the residential hall type used in Zen temples, and its plan is based on six rooms in two rows of three (Rokumadori). The telling detail is the northwest room. It served as the gozanoma, a room reserved for the lord, with a raised platform and an altar for memorial tablets at the back. The Agency notes that the hall keeps the character of a hojo that took on the role of a memorial tablet hall from the time it was built.
Some parts were altered later, including the front fittings of the veranda and the entrance at the southeast corner. According to Okayama Prefecture, the cusped katomado windows now on the front also belong to these changes. The posts, the beam framing and the room layout still reflect the original building of 1607.
The mausoleum and its front gate date from 1639, five years after Tadamasa's death. The priests' quarters are thought to date from the Enpo era (1673 to 1681). The middle gate is described as early Edo period in the Agency's commentary and as mid-17th century in its building-by-building entry. Seen together, the buildings of Hongenji were added step by step between the Momoyama period and the middle Edo period.
What to Look For at Hongenji Temple
The Mausoleum and Its Gate
The mausoleum is the most elaborate building at Hongenji. It is three bays square with a pyramidal Hōgyō-zukuri roof covered in copper (Dōban-buki), and a cusped Chinese-style gable shelters the entrance porch (Kōhai). Low-relief patterns cover the porch: brocade-like bands wrap the tops of the posts, a tortoise-shell motif runs along the head-tie beams, and carving continues across the bargeboards and rafter ends. At the center of the facade hangs a vermilion-lacquered paneled door (Sankarado), with katomado windows on each side.
Inside, the central eight-mat room is raised as a dais. Its coved and coffered ceiling frames a round flat panel (Kagami-tenjō) painted with a dragon. According to Tsuyama City, the altar projecting from the rear holds 28 memorial tablets, Tadamasa's among them. The mausoleum was dismantled and repaired in 2006 and 2007.
The front gate is a Shikyakumon, a four-legged gate with a single opening, built in the flat karamon style. Its main posts are round and its supporting posts square, all set on stone bases. The carved frog-leg struts (Kaerumata), the hasso-shaped carving at the ends of the lintel and the patterned panels of the doors show the same quality of work as the mausoleum. Past the gate a stone-paved path leads on, and behind the mausoleum stand the stone five-ring pagodas of seven members of the Mori family.
The Main Hall and Priests' Quarters
The main hall is a single-story building with a hip-and-gable Irimoya-zukuri roof of pantiles (Sangawara-buki) and a cusped gable canopy on the south side. The central front room, the shichu, holds 21 tatami mats, with the Buddha room behind it to the north. These two rooms and the north half of the front veranda have flat board ceilings, while the other rooms have batten ceilings. Openwork transoms of fine vertical slats sit above the front and the east, north and west sides of the shichu. Toward the west end of the facade is the onari genkan, the formal entrance for visits by the lord, which leads through two anterooms to the gozanoma. The route a daimyo would take through the building is still legible in the plan.
The priests' quarters followed somewhat later, around the Enpo era. The building measures 20.0 meters by 12.0 meters under a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof, with its entrance in the south gable end. The first two and a half bays from the south form an earthen-floored Doma, open to the roof so the beams show, with a large cooking hearth in the northeast corner of its western half. Two smoke vents are cut into the east slope of the roof, and a low loft (Tsushi-nikai) runs above. A corridor 12.5 meters long links the priests' quarters to the main hall.
The Middle Gate
The middle gate is the first designated building visitors meet on the approach to Hongenji. It is a Yakuimon, a gate type with the roof set slightly forward of the main posts, here with a gabled pantile roof and a single opening. Rectangular main posts carry the lintel, and four beams cross it at right angles. The struts above the beams have fist-shaped ends on all four sides, and the rafters curve upward. The doors are latticed above and boarded below.
Visiting Hongenji Temple
Hongenji Temple is open to visitors for an admission fee of 200 yen. Okayama Prefecture advises calling ahead (0868-22-7351), since the head priest is sometimes away. The main hall, priests' quarters, middle gate and mausoleum gate can be seen from outside, but the mausoleum doors are normally kept shut. They open for about a week around July 7, the anniversary of Mori Tadamasa's death, when the memorial service is held; it is best to check the dates with the temple each year. No published guidance on photography inside the buildings could be found, so ask the temple when you visit.
Hongenji is about a 20-minute walk from JR Tsuyama Station. By car it is about 10 minutes from the Innosho interchange of the Chugoku Expressway; Okayama Prefecture gives about 15 minutes from the Tsuyama interchange. The temple has parking.
The temple lies west of the Tsuyama Castle ruins in the Josai district, where many temples were gathered on the western edge of the castle town. Its outer gate has been cut off from the precinct by later changes to the streets and now stands on its own in the middle of the road.
Q&A
- Where is Hongenji Temple and how do I get there from the station?
- Hongenji Temple is in Odanaka, Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture, about a 20-minute walk from JR Tsuyama Station. By car it is about 10 minutes from the Innosho interchange of the Chugoku Expressway, and there is parking.
- How much does it cost to visit Hongenji Temple, and do I need to book?
- Admission to Hongenji Temple is 200 yen. Okayama Prefecture recommends contacting the temple in advance because the head priest is not always there. The temple's phone number is 0868-22-7351.
- When can I see inside the Hongenji Temple mausoleum?
- The Hongenji mausoleum is normally closed. Its interior opens for about a week around July 7, the anniversary of Mori Tadamasa's death, in step with the memorial service. Dates can vary from year to year, so confirm them with the temple.
- Which buildings at Hongenji Temple are designated Important Cultural Properties?
- Five buildings at Hongenji Temple are designated: the main hall, the priests' quarters, the mausoleum, the mausoleum front gate and the middle gate, with one ridge tag from the main hall as an appended item. The designation was made on August 7, 2013.
- When was the Hongenji Temple main hall built, and what makes it unusual?
- The Hongenji main hall was raised in 1607 and measures 25.3 meters by 18.9 meters. Built as an abbot's residence hall, it places a raised platform and a memorial tablet altar behind the lord's room in the northwest corner, folding the role of a memorial hall for the Mori family into the room plan.
Basic Information
| Name | Hongenji Temple (Main Hall, Priests' Quarters, Mausoleum, Mausoleum Front Gate, Middle Gate) |
|---|---|
| Location | Odanaka, Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | August 7, 2013 |
| Quantity | 5 buildings (with 1 ridge tag as an appended item) |
| Dimensions | Main Hall 25.3 m × 18.9 m; Priests' Quarters 20.0 m × 12.0 m |
| Owner | Hongenji Temple |
| Public Access | Open to visitors (200 yen; contact in advance recommended). Mausoleum interior opened only for about 1 week around July 7 |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Hongenji Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/00004698
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Hongenji Middle Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/00004702
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hongenji Main Hall
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/207007
- Okayama Prefecture: Hongenji Main Hall, Priests' Quarters, Mausoleum, Mausoleum Front Gate and Middle Gate (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.okayama.jp/uploaded/attachment/260707.pdf
- Okayama Prefecture: List of National Important Cultural Properties (Structures) (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.okayama.jp/page/detail-50626.html
- Tsuyama City: Graves of the Mori Family, Lords of Tsuyama, at Hongenji (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.tsuyama.lg.jp/common/photo/free/files/2366/201509171610130523073.pdf
- Koho Tsuyama: Walking the Josai District (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.tsuyama.lg.jp/common/photo/free/files/14149/798_06-07.pdf
- Okayama Kanko Web: Hongenji (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_10582.html
- Furusato Okoshi Project: Temple Quarter of the Tsuyama Castle Town (Japanese)
- https://www.jr-furusato.jp/magazine/9227/
Last verified: 2026.10.02
Cultural Treasures in the Same Area
All are within walking distance in the same area, so we recommend visiting them together.
- Hongenji Temple Middle gate 0.00 km
- Hongenji Temple Main Hall 0.04 km
- Hongenji Temple Mausoleum front gate 0.04 km
- Hongenji Temple kuri 0.05 km
- Hongenji Temple Mausoleum 0.06 km