Kongoji Temple (Kawajima)

About Kongoji Temple (Kawajima)

Kongoji Temple (Kawajima) is a Buddhist temple at Nakayama, Kawajima Town, Hiki District, Saitama Prefecture, whose main gate of 1852 and Dainichi Hall of the mid-Edo period were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (structures) on February 26, 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its full name is Seigetsuzan Kongoji (Higashimatsuyama Tourism Association).

The address is 1198 Nakaguruwa, Nakayama, Kawajima Town, and the owner is Kongoji (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

A Temple of the Hiki Clan

According to the Higashimatsuyama Tourism Association, the founding date of Kongoji is unknown; it is said to have been revived by Hiki Sama-no-suke Norikazu. It is regarded as the family temple of the Hiki clan and holds a Hiki genealogy. The principal image, an Amida Buddha, dates from the Kamakura period, and an ink inscription inside its knee names a member of the Hiki family as donor.

The grounds hold graves of the Hiki family, including four generations from Norikazu to Hisakazu, and the moat that survives around the cemetery is thought to preserve the outline of the Hiki residence (Higashimatsuyama Tourism Association).

The Two Registered Structures

Both were registered on February 26, 2021 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Kongoji Temple Gate, of 1852, faces south on the south edge of the grounds. It is a four-legged gate under a gabled pantiled roof, 3.0 metres wide, with projecting bracket sets, a gable frame of double tie beams and a central strut, lion-nose ends at the corners, and a carved dragon above the lintel (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Kongoji Temple Dainichi Hall, a small hall of the mid-Edo period east of the main hall, has a pyramidal copper roof and a building area of 16 square metres. Wall and ceiling paintings survive inside, and the outer panels are decorated with old-style frog-leg struts and carvings (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The Higashimatsuyama Tourism Association describes it as the hall for the Hiki family's memorial tablets.

Visiting and Location

Kongoji is a working temple, and no information on visiting hours, fees or interior access has been published. Please be considerate of the temple when you visit.

The address is 1198 Nakaguruwa, Nakayama, Kawajima Town. Each structure is described in its own article.