Tanjoji Temple: A Jodo Temple on the Site of Honen's Birth
Tanjoji Temple (誕生寺, Tanjō-ji) is a Jōdo-shū Buddhist temple in Satokata, Kumenan Town, Okayama Prefecture, whose Mieido Hall, rebuilt in 1695, and Main Gate, built in 1716, were designated together as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1980.
The name means "Temple of the Birth." Hōnen, who founded the Jōdo (Pure Land) school of Japanese Buddhism, is said to have been born here in 1133, the son of Uruma Tokikuni, a provincial constable of Kume. According to the temple's own history, the warrior Kumagai Naozane, who had become Hōnen's disciple under the name Renshō, turned the family house into a temple in 1193. Tanjoji Temple still honors him as its founding priest.
The Mieido is the main hall. Its name refers to the miei, a carved image of Hōnen that serves as the principal object of worship. The temple records that an earlier hall was burned by troops of the Ukita clan in the late sixteenth century. To pay for its replacement, the priests took the image on tour in 1693, displaying it at Ekōin in Edo and Chōrakuji in Kyoto, and the donations collected there funded the present hall, finished two years later.
The Main Gate followed 21 years after that.
Why Tanjoji Temple's Two Buildings Are Protected
The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out the Mieido Hall at Tanjoji Temple as a full-fledged example of the Buddhist-hall type of main hall used by the Jōdo school. It measures 5 bays across by 4 bays deep and carries a double roof in the Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable form. A porch one bay wide, capped by a curved karahafu gable, projects from the front. The main roofs are laid in Hongawarabuki tile, while a lean-to at the rear uses simpler Sangawara-buki pan tiles.
What earns the word "full-fledged" is the outer frame. The perimeter posts are round rather than square, and each carries a Mitsudo-gumi bracket set, the orthodox vocabulary of formal temple architecture.
The interior plan counts as well. Only the outer worship space, the Gejin, is partitioned off. The area around the inner sanctuary and the room for memorial tablets are left open, a layout the Agency describes as archaic.
The Main Gate of Tanjoji Temple is a three-bay Yakuimon with a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof in the same heavy tile. The Agency calls it large for its type and richly decorated. The temple reports that the gate's Munafuda ridge tag names the sixteenth abbot, Mansai, as sponsor and Shin'yo Jisshin as donor, and three ridge tags from the Mieido are included in the designation as attached items.
What to Look For at Tanjoji Temple
The Main Gate of Tanjoji Temple is the first thing you meet at the end of the approach. For a gate only three bays wide it is broad and tall, and a slow look at the eaves and gable ends shows why the Agency stresses its ornament. The plastered walls running off to either side, with their horizontal stripes, are said to have been a gift from the Fushimi-no-miya princely house in 1857.
Step through and the Mieido Hall faces you. Look up first. Two roofs are stacked one over the other, and the ridge carries a pair of shachi fish finials and a jewel-shaped ornament, both unusual on a Buddhist hall. Against all those horizontal lines, the curved gable of the porch is the one soft shape on the facade.
Then walk around to the side. From there the round posts and their bracket sets are easy to read along the veranda, and this side view, more than the front, explains the Agency's judgment.
Inside, the principal image is a statue of Hōnen that tradition says he carved himself at the age of 43 in memory of his parents. On the third Sunday of every April, the Nerikuyō procession of the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas turns the Mieido into the Pure Land and the small Shabadō hall, about 300 meters outside the Main Gate, into this world, with costumed bodhisattvas walking between the two. It is the one day of the year when both protected buildings of Tanjoji Temple become part of a ritual stage.
Visiting Tanjoji Temple: Hours, Fees and Access
Visitors can enter the grounds of Tanjoji Temple and see the Main Gate and the exterior of the Mieido Hall. The only charges listed by the temple and by the Okayama prefectural tourism site are 300 yen for the abbot's garden and 300 yen for the treasure hall, both open for admission from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Neither source lists a fee for walking through the gate to the front of the Mieido.
The reception hall and abbot's garden stand to the right of the Mieido, and you ask at the temple office to see them. The temple publishes no rule on photography, so check at the office before taking pictures indoors or in the treasure hall.
By train, get off at Tanjoji Station on the JR Tsuyama Line. The temple puts the walk at about 10 minutes, and signs point the way along the road. By car, Tanjoji Temple is about 20 minutes from the Innoshō interchange and about 30 minutes from the Tsuyama interchange on the Chūgoku Expressway, and its three parking lots hold 100 cars in total. Expect crowds on the third Sunday of April, when the Nerikuyō draws worshippers from across Japan.
Q&A
- When were the Mieido Hall and Main Gate of Tanjoji Temple built, and when were they designated?
- The Mieido Hall dates from 1695 and the Main Gate from 1716. Both were designated an Important Cultural Property on 18 December 1980.
- Can visitors enter Tanjoji Temple, and what are the hours and fees?
- Yes. The grounds and building exteriors can be seen, and the abbot's garden and treasure hall cost 300 yen each, with admission from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- How do I get to Tanjoji Temple from the nearest station, and is there parking?
- Walk about 10 minutes from Tanjoji Station on the JR Tsuyama Line. Drivers can reach it in about 20 minutes from the Innoshō interchange of the Chūgoku Expressway, and there is parking for 100 cars.
- Why is the Mieido Hall of Tanjoji Temple an Important Cultural Property?
- It is a full-fledged Jōdo main hall of the Buddhist-hall type, with round perimeter posts and three-bracket sets, and it keeps an archaic interior plan in which the area around the inner sanctuary is not partitioned.
- Can I take photographs at Tanjoji Temple?
- The temple publishes no photography policy. Beyond outdoor shots of the gate and hall exteriors, ask at the temple office first.
Basic Information
| Name | Tanjoji Temple (Mieido Hall and Main Gate) |
|---|---|
| Location | Satokata, Kumenan-cho, Kume-gun, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property |
| Year Designated | 1980 |
| Quantity | 2 buildings |
| Dimensions | Mieido Hall 5 × 4 bays; Main Gate 3-bay yakuimon |
| Owner | Tanjoji Temple |
| Public Access | Grounds and exteriors open; abbot's garden and treasure hall 300 yen each (admission 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Tanjoji Mieido
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/3099
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Tanjoji Sanmon
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/3100
- Cultural Heritage Online: Tanjoji Mieido
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/187246
- Cultural Heritage Online: Tanjoji Sanmon
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/124107
- Tanjoji Temple: History (Japanese)
- https://www.tanjoji.or.jp/concept.html
- Tanjoji Temple: Cultural Properties (Japanese)
- https://www.tanjoji.or.jp/assets1.html
- Tanjoji Temple: Visiting (Japanese)
- https://www.tanjoji.or.jp/worship.html
- Tanjoji Temple: Access (Japanese)
- https://www.tanjoji.or.jp/access.html
- Kumenan Town: Tanjoji (Japanese)
- https://www.town.kumenan.lg.jp/sightseeing_event/sightseeing/tanjoji.html
- Okayama Kanko Web: Tanjoji (Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-kanko.jp/spot/detail_11859.html
- Japan Travel and Tourism Research Institute, Tourism Resource Register: Tanjoji (Japanese)
- https://tabi.jtb.or.jp/res/330031-
Last verified: 2026.09.25
Cultural Treasures in the Same Area
All are within walking distance in the same area, so we recommend visiting them together.
- Tanjoji Temple Main Gate 0.00 km
- Tanjoji Temple Mieido Hall 0.05 km