One Hall, National Treasure since 1952
Shofukuji Temple Jizo Hall (正福寺地蔵堂, Shofukuji Jizodo) is a middle Muromachi structure at 4-chome Noguchi-cho, Higashimurayama City, Tokyo, made an Important Cultural Property on 4 April 1928 and designated a National Treasure on 29 March 1952. The quantity is one building and the owner the temple.
The hall is three bays by three, single-storeyed with a skirt roof, hip-and-gable, shingled, with the skirt roof in copper sheet. The date field gives 1407.
29 March 1952 is the day of the Tenjukoku embroidery, the Kongobuji Fudo hall and the Kanshinji golden hall.
One Ink Inscription Settled Three Questions
Characters found during a repair fixed several facts at once.
The Agency records that during the repair of 1933 an ink inscription of 1407 was found on a bracket supporting the tail of a rafter, fixing the date of building and establishing as well the temple's mountain name and that Jizo had been its principal image from the first.
Three things followed: when the hall went up, what the temple was called, and whether the image had always been Jizo.
At the Daizenji main hall an inscription on a pillar confirmed the date; at the Myooin pagoda an inscription on the finial gave the day the rings were raised. Both concerned dating alone.
Here one inscription settles the date, the name and the image together.
It sat on a bracket beneath a rafter tail: a small member added at the end of a piece that carries the eaves.
Resemblance Serves as Evidence of a Standard
Likeness to another building grounds the assessment.
From the shingled hip-and-gable roof over a three-bay square with a skirt roof, through the three-dimensional interior, down to the character of the ornamental detail, the hall closely resembles the relic hall at Engakuji.
The record concludes that Zen Buddha halls of the Kamakura region in the early Muromachi period may be taken as highly standardised and refined.
It closely resembles, therefore they were standardised. Resemblance serves not as a want of individuality but as evidence of the level of the age.
The Senjuji Nyorai hall was set in clear contrast with a native-style hall. The red-laced armour was paired with a shrine's armour of the same name as twin peaks.
Those turn on difference or on standing together. Here likeness itself carries the conclusion.
A Covering of Different Material for Preservation
The roofing carries a note of explanation.
The skirt roof is boarded with battened joints, the record says, with copper sheet laid over it for the sake of preservation.
Boards are the proper material. Copper covers them to keep them.
The structural field divides accordingly: shingles on the main roof, copper sheet on the skirt.
At Sofukuji Daiyuhoden, the upper storey was added in the Genroku era. At the Jodoji pagoda, a railing was first set up in 1732. Both were later additions.
Here the original material remains and something covers it to protect it. What marks the case is that the record states the reason in a bracket.
Visiting
The hall stands at 4-chome Noguchi-cho, Higashimurayama City, Tokyo, owned by the temple. It stands in the precinct and its exterior can be seen on a visit.
The temple's history is recorded: it lies on the flat Musashino plain and belongs to the Rinzai school as a branch of Kenchoji.
On its founding: a close recent examination of Edo-period temple records has led to the view that it was founded by Musho Josho, a monk of the Hojo family who travelled to Song China, with his master at a Chinese monastery invited as nominal founder.
A nominal founder is a figure named as founder without having come. Here a Southern Song monk is so named.
At the Toshodaiji sutra repository, the origin was recorded as established by close investigation during a recent repair. Here too the record notes when the view was reached. Access to the interior follows the temple's own arrangements. Check before travelling.
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Q&A
- When was the hall designated?
- It became an Important Cultural Property on 4 April 1928 and a National Treasure on 29 March 1952. The quantity is one building, at Higashimurayama City, Tokyo, owned by the temple.
- When was it built?
- In 1407. The Agency records that during the repair of 1933 an ink inscription of that year was found on a bracket supporting a rafter tail, fixing the date of building.
- What else did the inscription establish?
- The temple's mountain name and that Jizo had been the principal image from the first. One inscription settled the date, the name and the image together.
- Is the copper roofing original?
- No. The Agency records that the skirt roof is boarded with battened joints, with copper sheet laid over it for the sake of preservation. Boards are the proper material.
- What is valued in it?
- The Agency notes its close resemblance to the relic hall at Engakuji and concludes that Zen Buddha halls of the Kamakura region in the early Muromachi period were highly standardised and refined.
Basic Information
| Name | Shofukuji Temple Jizo Hall (正福寺地蔵堂, Shofukuji Jizodo) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4-chome Noguchi-cho, Higashimurayama City, Tokyo |
| Designation | National Treasure (structure, religious architecture) |
| Year Designated | 1928 (4 April), Important Cultural Property; 1952 (29 March), National Treasure |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 3 bays by 3, single-storeyed with a skirt roof, hip-and-gable, shingled, the skirt roof in copper sheet. The date field gives 1407, fixed by an ink inscription on a bracket beneath a rafter tail. The skirt roof is properly boarded, with copper laid over it for preservation. The period is the middle Muromachi |
| Owner | Shofukuji |
| Public Access | Standing in the precinct; the exterior can be seen on a visit, while the interior follows the temple's own arrangements |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: the Shofukuji Jizo hall
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/173812
- Shofukuji: the Jizo hall
- https://shofuku-ji.org/jizou-hall
- Higashimurayama City: cultural properties
- https://www.city.higashimurayama.tokyo.jp/
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.06