Jorakuji Temple

One of the Three Temples of Konan, with Two National Treasures

The Jorakuji Temple (常楽寺, Jorakuji) is a Tendai temple in Nishidera, Konan City, Shiga Prefecture, whose Muromachi main hall and three-storied pagoda were both designated National Treasures in 1953.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it belongs to Enryakuji, is known locally as Nishidera, the West Temple, and flourished alongside nearby Chojuji, the East Temple.

The Agency cites the temple's fundraising records, which say it was one of the five thousand lodgings of Mount Asebo founded by Konsho Bosatsu in the Wado era (708 to 715), and that all its buildings burned on 26 March 1360.

The Main Hall and the Pagoda

According to the Agency, the main hall seems to have been rebuilt soon after the 1360 fire by the monk Kankei. Seven bays by six with a three-bay porch, it was heavily repaired around the end of the Muromachi period, but remains one of the representative Japanese-style halls of the Muromachi period.

The pagoda stands on higher ground behind and to the left of the main hall; a fundraising record of 1398 and a tile inscribed in 1400 fix its date. It is 4.56 metres wide at the base and 22.8 metres high, orthodox in pure Japanese style, with portraits of the eight Shingon patriarchs painted on the boards inside.

The Precinct

The Konan tourism association notes that inside the main hall figures of the Twenty-Eight Attendants line both sides of the shrine holding the hidden principal image. The pagoda, about 23 metres high, rises behind the hall, and azaleas colour the precinct in spring.

Thirty-three stone Kannon figures surround the pagoda and hall; visiting them all is said to bring the same blessings as the Omi pilgrimage to thirty-three temples.

Visiting Jorakuji

The tourism association reports that as of May 2026, because of work inside the hall and in the precinct, visits are possible only on Saturdays and Sundays by reservation, with weekday visits generally not accepted. Reservations are by telephone or fax.

Normal hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from February to October and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from November to the second Sunday of December; admission is 600 yen for adults. It is about 3 minutes on foot from the Nishidera community bus stop from JR Ishibe Station. Enquiries: Jorakuji, 0748-77-3089.