What Honrenji Temple Banjindo Is
Honrenji Temple Banjindo (本蓮寺番神堂, also written Honren-ji Banjindō) is a set of three small shrine buildings of the late Muromachi period standing in the precinct of Honrenji Temple at Ushimado in Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture, designated an Important Cultural Property on 14 May 1958 (Shōwa 33). A single covering hall shelters all three, and they are lined up east to west inside it: Tōshi at the east end, Chūshi in the middle, Seishi at the west.
What a visitor sees on arrival is the covering hall itself. The shrines are hidden within, which is precisely why they survive. All three carry Kokerabuki roofs of thin overlapping shingles, a finish that weathers quickly when left in the open.
The three were not built in one campaign. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database dates Tōshi to 1468, Chūshi to around 1492 to 1501, and Seishi to 1500, the last of these fixed by an inscription recording its construction. Setouchi City places the other two in the later Muromachi period. Roughly three decades separate the earliest from the latest.
Shrines for the Thirty Guardian Deities
A banjindō is a hall for the Thirty Guardian Deities, a group of kami who are said to protect the Lotus Sutra and its followers in rotation, one deity for each of the thirty days of the month. Temples in the Lotus tradition built separate halls for them, and Setouchi City describes Honrenji Temple Banjindo in exactly these terms.
Shrine buildings inside a Buddhist precinct are an expression of Shinbutsu-shūgō, the long accommodation between kami worship and Buddhism in Japan. The national database records the distinction plainly: the main hall of the temple is classified under temple architecture, while Honrenji Temple Banjindo is classified under shrine architecture. The name says hall; the carpentry says shrine.
Why three separate structures rather than one is not explained by any published source. The staggered dates suggest they accumulated as separate acts of patronage, but no document confirming that has been made public.
Telling the Three Apart
At a glance the three look like siblings. They are not identical. Chūshi, the central shrine, measures one bay by one bay and carries an Irimoya-zukuri hipped-and-gabled roof with a Kōhai canopy projecting one bay over the front steps. Its eaves are futanoki shigedaruki: Taruki rafters set in two tiers and spaced closely together.
Tōshi and Seishi are built instead in the Nagare-zukuri manner used across Japan for small shrines, the front slope of the roof running down and forward to shelter the approach without a separate canopy. Their eaves use a single tier of closely set rafters rather than two. The shingled roofs are common to all three.
So the middle shrine changes roof form and doubles the rafter tiers, raising its rank above its neighbours. That graded difference is the thing to look for at Honrenji Temple Banjindo. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the group for the quality of its detailing across all three buildings and considers it a rare survival of its kind, and that judgement is the substance of the designation.
Elsewhere in the precinct stand a middle gate, said to have been rebuilt around 1492 like the main hall, and a three-storied pagoda of 1690. Among these the three shrines are the smallest buildings and the most densely worked.
Visiting Honrenji Temple Banjindo
The precinct is open during daylight hours and walking up to Honrenji Temple Banjindo costs nothing. No admission fee and no fixed opening hours are published, including on the tourism site run by the Setouchi City Tourism Association. Because the three shrines sit inside the covering hall, the ordinary view is through its openings rather than face to face. Anyone hoping to look closely should contact Honrenji Temple in advance on 0869-34-2014.
No photography restriction has been published. Photographing the precinct and the exterior of the covering hall is unproblematic; during services, or if you are admitted inside a building, follow the temple's instructions.
By public transport, take a bus bound for Ushimado from Oku Station on the JR Ako Line and get off after about 20 minutes at Honrenji-shita. A flight of stone steps leads up from the stop into the precinct, where the shrines stand southwest of the main hall. Drivers reach the temple in about 20 minutes from the Oku interchange of the Okayama Blue Line. The address is 3194 Ushimado, Ushimado-cho, Setouchi City.
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Q&A
- Can Honrenji Temple Banjindo be visited, and is there an admission fee?
- The precinct is open during daylight hours and there is no admission fee or published opening time. The three shrines stand inside a covering hall, so the usual view is from outside it. To see them closely, contact Honrenji Temple beforehand on 0869-34-2014.
- When were the three shrines of Honrenji Temple Banjindo built?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives 1468 for Tōshi, around 1492 to 1501 for Chūshi, and 1500 for Seishi, the last confirmed by a construction inscription. They were built over roughly three decades rather than at one time.
- What is enshrined at Honrenji Temple Banjindo?
- The Thirty Guardian Deities, kami said to protect the Lotus Sutra one day at a time through the thirty days of a month. Temples in the Lotus tradition built dedicated halls for them, which is why a building in shrine form stands inside a Buddhist precinct here.
- How do the three buildings of Honrenji Temple Banjindo differ from one another?
- The central Chūshi has a hipped-and-gabled roof, a canopy projecting one bay over the front, and eaves with two tiers of rafters. The flanking Tōshi and Seishi use the flowing nagare-zukuri roof form and a single tier of rafters. All three are shingled.
- How do I get to Honrenji Temple Banjindo?
- Take a bus for Ushimado from Oku Station on the JR Ako Line, ride about 20 minutes, and get off at Honrenji-shita. Stone steps lead straight up into the precinct, and the shrines are southwest of the main hall. By car it is about 20 minutes from the Oku interchange of the Okayama Blue Line.
Basic Information
| Name | Honrenji Temple Banjindo (east, middle and west shrines) |
|---|---|
| Location | Honrenji Temple precinct, 3194 Ushimado, Ushimado-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | 14 May 1958 (Shōwa 33) |
| Quantity | 3 buildings |
| Dimensions | Each shrine is one bay wide and one bay deep; no detailed measurements have been published |
| Owner | Honrenji Temple |
| Public Access | Precinct open during daylight hours; the three shrines stand inside a covering hall, so close viewing must be arranged with Honrenji Temple in advance |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Honrenji Banjindo, East Shrine (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3062
- National Cultural Properties Database, Honrenji Banjindo, Middle Shrine (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3063
- National Cultural Properties Database, Honrenji Banjindo, West Shrine (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/3064
- Cultural Heritage Online, Honrenji Banjindo, West Shrine (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/148261
- Honrenji Banjindo, three buildings (Setouchi City)
- https://www.city.setouchi.lg.jp/soshiki/23/3080.html
- Honrenji Middle Gate (Setouchi City)
- https://www.city.setouchi.lg.jp/soshiki/23/3078.html
- Honrenji Three-Storied Pagoda (Setouchi City)
- https://www.city.setouchi.lg.jp/soshiki/23/3075.html
- Honrenji Temple (Setouchi City Tourism Association)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/setouchi/spot/detail_11181.html
Last verified: 2026.09.09
Cultural Treasures in the Same Area
All are within walking distance in the same area, so we recommend visiting them together.
- Honrenji Temple Banjindo East shrine 0.00 km
- Honrenji Temple Banjindo Middle shrine 0.00 km
- Honrenji Temple Banjindo West shrine 0.00 km