Dated 1660, the Oldest Building in the Precinct
Guseiji Temple Bell Tower (弘誓寺鐘楼, Guseiji Shōrō) is an early Edo-period belfry in the precinct of Guseiji in Taikōji-chō, Higashiōmi City, Shiga Prefecture, built in 1660 and entered on the national register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties in 2007. It occupies the south-east corner of the precinct, close to the road, on a podium of stacked stone.
The structure is one bay square, with a floor area of 8.5 square metres. There are no walls: all four sides stand open. Above sits a Kirizuma-zukuri gabled roof laid in Hongawarabuki tiling, its ridge running north to south. The temple's main hall dates from 1753, so Guseiji Temple Bell Tower predates it by 93 years.
Why a Small Building Counts as a Model of Its Form
Guseiji Temple Bell Tower was registered on 2 October 2007 under the criterion covering works that serve as a model of their form. That a building of 8.5 square metres attracted such a judgement has a simple explanation: the way belfries were put together in the middle of the seventeenth century survives here without being buried under later alterations.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls the appearance direct and plain, and singles out details such as the oigata, the wing-shaped bracket flanking the gable strut, as accomplished work. The character of the building comes from shaping the necessary members well, not from adding ornament to them.
Note the vocabulary. A Registered Tangible Cultural Property is registered, not designated; the register was created in 1996 and is a separate instrument from the designation system that produces Important Cultural Properties.
What to Look At
Start with the columns. The four round posts look vertical and are not. Each leans very slightly inward towards the top, a technique called uchikorobi that steadies the frame and, to the eye, makes the building sit rather than perch. Together with the stone podium it gives a small structure a low centre of gravity.
On top of each column is a large bearing block, and from it a bracket arm reaches out to carry the purlin. The joinery is simple. What lifts it is the curved profile cut into the edge of each arm, enough to break the monotony without competing with the roof.
Because the sides are open, the underside of the roof is fully visible from below. There is no ceiling: rafters and boarding are left exposed as a Keshō-yaneura, with a single row of widely spaced rafters. On a bright day their shadows travel across the stone podium as the hours pass.
Guseiji Temple Bell Tower stands near the road, so the roofline registers from outside the precinct. The lean of the columns and the carving on the brackets, though, only resolve when you walk up to the podium.
Visiting
The building stands in the open air at the corner of the precinct, so once inside the precinct it can be viewed freely from all sides. Guseiji is a working parish temple rather than a sightseeing temple, and no visiting hours or admission fee have been published for Guseiji Temple Bell Tower; neither the Agency for Cultural Affairs database nor Higashiōmi City's cultural property listings records any, as checked in September 2026. Visitors cannot ring the bell.
No photography policy has been published. Photographing the exterior from the precinct is not generally obstructed; avoid doing so during services.
The nearest station is Notogawa on the JR Biwako Line, roughly a ten-minute walk. Trains from Kyoto take about 50 minutes with one change. By car, allow around 30 minutes from the Yōkaichi or Ryūō interchange on the Meishin Expressway.
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Q&A
- Can visitors see Guseiji Temple Bell Tower, and is there an admission fee?
- It stands in the open precinct and can be viewed from outside once you enter. No visiting hours or admission fee have been published, as of September 2026.
- When was Guseiji Temple Bell Tower built?
- In 1660, which makes it older than the temple's main hall of 1753. It was registered as a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 October 2007.
- Can visitors ring the bell at Guseiji Temple Bell Tower?
- No. The bell is not opened to visitors for ringing, and no public bell-ringing event has been announced.
- How do you reach Guseiji Temple Bell Tower?
- Take the JR Biwako Line to Notogawa Station and walk about ten minutes. By car it is roughly 30 minutes from the Yōkaichi or Ryūō interchange on the Meishin Expressway.
- What should visitors look for at Guseiji Temple Bell Tower?
- The inward lean of the four round columns, the carved bracket arms above them, and the exposed rafters of the open ceiling, best seen from close to the stone podium.
Basic Information
| Name | Guseiji Temple Bell Tower (弘誓寺鐘楼) |
|---|---|
| Location | 979 Taikojicho, Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 2 October 2007 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | One bay square; area 8.5 square metres |
| Owner | Guseiji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the precinct; no published hours or admission fee |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Guseiji Shoro
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006407
- Cultural Heritage Online: Guseiji Shoro
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/191130
- Higashiomi City: List of Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.higashiomi.shiga.jp/bunka_sports_shougaigakushu/rekishi_bunka/1003140/1003141.html
- Higashiomi City: List of Tangible Cultural Properties (Structures)
- https://www.city.higashiomi.shiga.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/003/141/r5.5.1kenzoubutsu.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.07