Jozenji Temple Back Gate

What the Jozenji Temple Back Gate is

Jozenji Temple Back Gate (上善寺裏門, Jōzen-ji Uramon) is a mid-Edo Yakuimon gate on the north edge of Jozenji in Sakaemachi, Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture, built between 1661 and 1750 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 8, 2008, under registration number 27-0506.

The gate stands west of the priests' quarters and faces north onto the Kyoshigoe Kaido. Also known as the Hama Kaido, this old coastal road began in Izumisano and ran south along the shore, crossing Kyoshi Pass into Wakayama. The back gate gives the temple a second entrance on a different street from the west-facing front gate.

It is a single-bay yakuimon with a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof in Hongawarabuki tiling and a frontage of 2.5 metres. Flanking walls extend to either side, and the east wall has a low Kugurido, a small door you stoop to pass through.

A weighty gate on an old street

Jozenji Temple Back Gate was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a solid, weighty gate standing among the old streets of the former Sano merchant town.

A yakuimon rests its roof on main posts and rear supporting posts, with the ridge set off-centre from the main posts. Here the main posts are gohei-bashira, flattened rectangles in section, while the supporting posts are square with chamfered corners. The eaves are finished with closely spaced rafters.

In the gable and at the centre of the kabuki, the crossbeam joining the main posts, sit flat cut-out Kaerumata struts. Unlike the heavily carved front gate, this one signals its standing through thick timbers and restrained ornament, which suits a gate turned toward a public road.

Its date range reaches back to the mid-Edo period, placing it with the main hall among the older of Jozenji's registered buildings, and its long role in the streetscape outside the temple is exactly what the registration recognises.

What to look for

Stand on the road facing the gate. The flanking walls reach out on both sides so that gate and wall meet the street as one continuous front, and from here you can also pick out the small wicket door in the east wall.

Move closer to the main posts and notice that they are flat rectangles, not squares. Compared with the chamfered supporting posts behind them, they show how differently the carpenters treated each member of the same gate.

Then look up for the flat cut-out strut at the centre of the crossbeam. Decoration is limited to this and the gable, and that restraint makes the whole gate feel heavier.

Visiting the Jozenji Temple Back Gate

Because it faces the road, the outer side of the gate can be seen at any time. Viewing it from inside the grounds is possible during the temple's opening hours; whether the doors themselves stand open may vary with the time of day.

The gate faces north, so its outer face gets little direct sun, and the even light makes details easy to see throughout the day. No policy on photography has been published; the gate fronts a residential street, so keep clear of passing traffic.

Directions to the temple and its opening hours are covered on the Jozenji page.