Chomeiji Temple

A Pilgrimage Temple above Lake Biwa

Chomeiji Temple (長命寺, Chōmei-ji) is a Tendai-lineage temple halfway up Mount Chomeiji in Chomeiji-cho, Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, where six buildings, led by a main hall rebuilt in 1524, are designated Important Cultural Properties.

Its mountain name is Ikiyasan, and it is Temple No. 31 on the Saigoku pilgrimage, the circuit of 33 temples devoted to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. The principal image is a set of three Kannon figures, the Thousand-Armed, the Eleven-Headed and Sho Kannon, worshipped together as a single object of devotion. According to the Japan Heritage portal, all three are hidden images shown only at irregular intervals.

The tradition recorded by the Saigoku pilgrimage association holds that Takenouchi no Sukune, a minister of legend, prayed for long life on this mountain and lived past 300, and that Prince Shotoku built the first halls here in 619 and named the temple after that famous longevity. Chomei means "long life", and pilgrims still come to pray for good health.

How Chomeiji Recovered from the Fire of 1516

The Agency for Cultural Affairs explains that the temple's buildings burned in fighting in 1516 and that everything standing today was built after that disaster.

Rebuilding began with the main hall. The Shiga Prefecture encyclopedia notes that temple documents date its ridge-raising to 1524. The Gohogongensha worship hall followed in 1565, the Sanbutsudo in the Tensho era (late sixteenth century), the three-storied pagoda in 1597, the goma hall in 1606 and the bell tower in 1608.

Roughly eighty years, from the late Muromachi period into the Momoyama period, went into restoring the mountainside complex. When it added the Sanbutsudo and the worship hall to the list, the Agency described Chomeiji's buildings as the precinct of a Kannon pilgrimage temple that had recovered from late-medieval destruction.

The Precinct and Its Six Designated Buildings

At the top of the stone stairway the halls crowd together on a narrow terrace around the main hall. According to the Shiga encyclopedia, the goma hall and the pagoda stand to the east of the main hall and the bell tower sits on higher ground to the west. Agency records place the Sanbutsudo west of the main hall and the Gohogongensha worship hall further west again, linked by covered corridors.

Among the six designated buildings, only the pagoda is roofed in wooden shingles (Kokerabuki); the other five carry cypress bark (Hiwadabuki). Seen from the head of the steps, the plant-based roofs stack up one behind another.

The buildings were designated at different times: the main hall in 1904, the pagoda in 1923, the goma hall and bell tower in 1967, and the Sanbutsudo and worship hall in 2021. Each building has its own page describing its structure and what to look for.

The Japan Heritage portal notes a pair of great boulders on the slope north of the main hall, the Rokusho Gongen Yogo-seki, where Takenouchi no Sukune is said to have practised austerities, a reminder that worship at Chomeiji Temple grew out of reverence for the mountain itself.

Visiting Chomeiji Temple

The Saigoku pilgrimage association lists visiting hours at Chomeiji Temple as 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the stamp office open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. There is no admission fee.

By public transport, take the Omi Railway bus bound for Chomeiji from JR Omihachiman Station on the Biwako Line and ride to the terminus, about 25 minutes. The stairway of 808 steps begins there; the Biwako Visitors Bureau puts the climb at about 20 to 25 minutes.

By car, allow about 30 minutes from the Ryuo interchange on the Meishin Expressway. A road climbs to parking near the precinct, and a car park at the eighth station leaves a further 5 to 6 minutes of steps. Tour coaches cannot use this road.

Annual services include Shusho-e from January 1 to 3, the founder's memorial on February 1 and Sennichi-e on August 1 and 2.

No official guidance on photography could be found. Follow any notices on site and, if unsure, ask the temple (0748-33-0031).