Genshoji Temple Main Gate

What Is Genshoji Temple Main Gate?

Genshoji Temple Main Gate (源聖寺山門, Genshō-ji Sanmon) is the front gate of Genshoji, a Jodo Shu (Pure Land) Buddhist temple in Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka City; built in the final decades of the Edo period (1830 to 1867), it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) of Japan in 2008. It is a tiled timber gate of the type called Yakuimon, one bay wide with an opening of 3.2 meters, and it is flanked by short walls (Sodobei) fitted with small wicket doors.

The gate faces west onto Matsuyamachi-suji avenue. When fire destroyed the temple's early Edo main hall in 1973, Genshoji Temple Main Gate and the Priests' Quarters beside it came through, and they are now the buildings that show what Genshoji looked like in the Edo period.

Why Genshoji Temple Main Gate Was Registered

Genshoji Temple Main Gate was registered for its contribution to Japan's historic landscape. The Shitaderamachi stretch of Matsuyamachi-suji is a street of temple gates, and the same 2008 round also added the gates of Shonenji and Manpukuji on the same avenue. The registration numbers run straight through: 27-0466 for Shonenji's gate, 27-0467 and 27-0468 for Genshoji's Priests' Quarters and gate, 27-0469 for Manpukuji's gate. The numbering alone shows that the row of gateways was assessed as a whole.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out Genshoji's as a large yakuimon, with deeply cut decorative carving on its frog-leg struts and curved tie beams. It is only one bay wide, yet its height and the richness of its carving give it presence among the gates along the avenue. The temple notes that the gate was renovated before registration.

What to Look for at the Main Gate

The roof is a simple gable (Kirizuma-zukuri) laid with round-and-flat tiles (Hongawarabuki). In a yakuimon, the two main posts are backed by a pair of rear posts, and the gabled roof sits on top of both.

The detail worth studying at Genshoji Temple Main Gate is the framing above the posts. On the main beams that run front to back from the posts sit three-block bracket sets (Mitsudo-gumi), and these lift the curved tie beam (Kōryō) and the purlins to a noticeably high level. Stand under the gate and look up: the ceiling is a flat board ceiling (Kagami-tenjō), framed on all sides by beams and purlins raised a full tier higher than a plain gate would need, which gives the passage real height.

In each gable end, a carved frog-leg strut (Kaerumata) rests on a curved tie beam. The eaves are doubled, with two tiers of closely spaced rafters (Taruki) that give the roof edge some weight. The strut and beams carry the deep relief carving the agency mentions. Because the gate faces west, the carving reads best in the afternoon, when the sun comes round to the front and throws the relief into shadow.

The walls on either side each have a wicket door. According to the temple, a lattice is fitted on the inner side of the gate, and it is folded open along with the doors every morning.

Visiting Genshoji Temple Main Gate

Genshoji Temple Main Gate can be seen from the Matsuyamachi-suji pavement at any time. The temple opens it by 6:00 a.m. and shuts it by 7:00 p.m., and while it is open you may walk through it into the grounds. The beam work and the board ceiling only make sense when you stand directly beneath the gate; since it is also the temple's entrance, keep your stop brief and leave the way clear.

For a photograph of the whole front, the opposite pavement of Matsuyamachi-suji gives the best framing. Traffic on the avenue is heavy, so stay off the road. Directions to the temple and conditions for visiting the grounds are on the Genshoji Temple page.