Shitennoji Temple

Shitennoji Temple as an Important Cultural Property

The Important Cultural Property listed as Shitennoji Temple (四天王寺) comprises 6 buildings of 1623 that stand in the grounds of the temple in Tennoji Ward, Osaka City, designated together on 17 September 1954. They are the Rokujido, the Gansan Daishido, the abbot's quarters, the Gochikoin, the west service gate of the abbot's compound, and the stone stage.

Almost everything else at Shitennoji Temple burned in the air raids of 1945. These 6 structures on the north side of the grounds are the only ones that still carry early modern timber and early modern joinery. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records all of them as built under Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1623 and treats them as important examples of early Edo temple architecture.

Why They Are Designated

The listing rests on the survival of an early Edo temple ensemble rather than on any single masterpiece. A residential compound with its gate, a hall for daily liturgy, an initiation hall and a stage for court dance came out of one building campaign and have stayed together ever since.

Each is built differently. The Rokujido measures 7 bays by 5 under a hipped-and-gabled tile roof, and the abbot's quarters share those 7 by 5 dimensions, facing south. The Gochikoin is 7 bays by 3 with a 3-bay porch across the front, and the Gansan Daishido is 3 bays square under a hipped roof. The west service gate is a four-legged gate with a gabled roof. The stone stage is not a building at all: a raised stone platform set on a stone bridge, edged with a wooden balustrade.

What to Look For

The Rokujido stands at the centre of the grounds and takes its name from the six daily services of praise once recited there. It remains the working heart of Shitennoji Temple for memorial rites and for the reception of ashes, and people come and go all day. A figure of Binzuru and a small votive Jizo sit at the entrance.

The stone stage bridges the turtle pond. Every 22 April, court dance is performed on it during the Shoryoe memorial service. Carved into its side are three characters naming the guild of Osaka timber merchants who paid for its rebuilding.

The Gochikoin houses the five Wisdom Buddhas around Dainichi and served as the hall for ordination and initiation rites. Because the memorial tablets of the Tokugawa house were kept there, it was also known as the spirit hall. The Gansan Daishido honours Ryogen, the tenth-century Tendai abbot credited with inventing the paper fortune slip still drawn at temples across Japan.

Visiting the Designated Buildings of Shitennoji Temple

Four of the 6, the Rokujido, the Gansan Daishido, the stone stage and the west service gate, stand in the free part of the grounds. The Rokujido opens from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., later than any other hall at Shitennoji Temple.

The abbot's quarters and the Gochikoin lie inside the abbot's compound, next to the paid garden known as the Garden of the Pure Land, which costs 300 yen for adults and 200 yen for school students and closes on set dates. How much of the interiors can be seen varies, so a call to Shitennoji Temple on 06-6771-0066 is worth making. The temple publishes no blanket rule on photography, so follow the notices on site. Directions and general opening hours are on the Shitennoji Temple page.

A Note on Conflicting Sources

The two available sources disagree about the Gansan Daishido. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates all 6 buildings to 1623, while the temple's own website gives 1618 for that hall. This article follows the Agency record as the primary source, and the point is worth checking on site.