Ishidō-ji's Stone Five-Ring Pagodas
Cut into the granite of one of these two pagodas is a date: the fifth day of the ninth month of Kagen 2, the year 1304. Its companion carries a later mark, Jōwa 5 (1349). The pair stands on the east side of the great stone three-storied pagoda at Ishidō-ji, a Tendai temple in the hills of Higashiōmi in Shiga Prefecture. Both are gorintō, or five-ring pagodas, and together they form one designation as an Important Cultural Property.
A five-ring pagoda is a uniquely Japanese form of Buddhist monument. Five separate stones are stacked from the ground up, each shaped to stand for one of the five elements of esoteric Buddhist cosmology: a square base for earth, a sphere for water, a pyramidal block for fire, a half-moon for wind, and a jewel-shaped cap for the void. Read together, the five forms embody Dainichi Nyorai, the cosmic Buddha at the center of esoteric teaching. The shape took root in Japan in the late Heian period and spread widely during the Kamakura period as a marker for the dead and a vessel for prayer.
What sets these two apart from the thousands of weathered stone pagodas scattered across the temple grounds is the precision of their dating. Both carry carved year-marks, which lets historians place them within a few decades of each other and study how the granite carver's craft changed across the close of the Kamakura age into the troubled years that followed.
Why the pagodas were designated
The two five-ring pagodas were registered as a single Important Cultural Property on 9 February 1960. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records them under the category of stone structures, with the left pagoda dated to Kagen 2 (1304) and the right to Jōwa 5 (1349).
The dated inscriptions are the heart of their value. Most medieval stone pagodas in Japan carry no year at all, so scholars must estimate their age from the proportions of the roof stone or the curve of the water sphere. A carved date removes the guesswork. These two become fixed reference points: a pagoda securely placed in 1304, and another in 1349. Other undated monuments can be compared against them, which is why dated examples carry weight far beyond their modest size.
The 1349 date also reaches into a specific moment in Japanese history. Jōwa was an era name used by the Northern Court during the Nanbokuchō period, the decades when two rival imperial lines split the country. A monument carved and dated in those years is a small, firm anchor in a time when much else was in flux.
Their setting deepens the significance. The pagodas sit beside the temple's celebrated stone three-storied pagoda, long called the Ashoka pagoda, which is generally held to date from the early Nara period and is counted as the oldest and largest stone tiered pagoda in Japan. Carved roughly six centuries before the five-ring pagodas, that older monument is widely thought to be the work of immigrant artisans of Korean descent, whose Baekje community settled the Gamō plain in the seventh century. The five-ring pagodas show the same local granite worked by a later generation, evidence that stone-carving remained a living tradition on this hillside for hundreds of years.
What to look for on a visit
Reach the upper terrace by climbing the long flight of 158 stone steps that rises through a stand of red pine. The first thing to meet the eye is the towering three-storied pagoda. Walk to its eastern side and the two five-ring pagodas come into view, low and four-square against the taller monument, with a stone hōtō of 1302 standing nearby.
Look closely at the five stacked stones of each pagoda and the geometry becomes a lesson in doctrine. The cube at the base, the round water stone, the gently pitched fire stone, the rounded wind stone, and the small finial each name an element. On many five-ring pagodas a Sanskrit seed syllable is carved on each face, one per element. Search the surfaces for the faint cut of the date as well; the granite has held its lines for seven centuries, though weather has softened them.
Step back and take in the scene as a whole. Around the three monuments spread tens of thousands of smaller stone pagodas and weathered Buddhist figures, packed across the terrace in a dense field. The two dated five-ring pagodas are the documented exceptions in that anonymous crowd, the ones whose makers left a year behind. Reading them against the ancient three-storied pagoda nearby gives a rare, compressed view of how stone faith-monuments changed across the medieval centuries in one place.
Around Ishidō-ji
The temple sits in the former Gamō district east of Lake Biwa, a region tied since ancient times to settlers from the Korean peninsula. Several nearby temples share Ishidō-ji's legend of founding by Prince Shōtoku, among them Hyakusai-ji and Chōmei-ji, making the area a natural route for travelers interested in early Buddhist history. Hyakusai-ji in particular pairs well with a visit, set in mountain woodland with its own deep history.
At the end of August the temple holds the Ishidō Festival, when lanterns are lit among the stone pagodas and figures after dark. The principal image of the temple, a Shō Kannon, is a hidden Buddha and is not normally shown. Most visitors come for the stone monuments, which are outdoors and visible year round during opening hours. The autumn maples along the approach stairway are a local draw in November.
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Q&A
- What exactly is designated as the Important Cultural Property here?
- Two stone five-ring pagodas, treated as a single designation made in 1960. One is dated 1304 and the other 1349. They are separate from the temple's three-storied pagoda and stone hōtō, which carry their own designations.
- What is a five-ring pagoda, in simple terms?
- A stack of five stones, each shaped for one element: earth, water, fire, wind, and the void, read from bottom to top. It is a Buddhist memorial form that became common in the Kamakura period and is considered a Japanese development.
- Why does the carved date matter so much?
- Most medieval stone pagodas are undated, so their age is estimated from style. A securely dated example becomes a yardstick for placing others, which gives these two pagodas value out of proportion to their size.
- Can I see them, and how much does it cost?
- Yes. The pagodas stand outdoors on the temple grounds. Admission is 400 yen for adults and 100 yen for children. Opening hours are 9:00 to 17:00, extended to 18:00 from May through October.
- How do I reach the temple by public transport?
- From Ōmi-Hachiman Station take an Ōmi Railway bus to Sakuragawa, change to a Hino town bus, and get off at Ishidō-guchi, then walk about 15 minutes. A large car park is available for those driving.
Basic Information
| Name | Ishidō-ji Stone Five-Ring Pagodas (Sekitō-ji Gorintō) |
|---|---|
| Location | 860 Ishidō-chō, Higashiōmi City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (stone structures), designated 9 February 1960 |
| Quantity | 2 pagodas |
| Dates | Kagen 2 (1304) and Jōwa 5 (1349) |
| Material | Granite |
| Owner | Ishidō-ji |
| Admission | Adults 400 yen, children 100 yen |
| Hours | 9:00–17:00 (to 18:00 May–October) |
| Access | Bus to Ishidō-guchi via Sakuragawa, then about 15 minutes on foot |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Designated Cultural Properties: Ishidō-ji Gorintō
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/1481
- Shiga Tourism Official Site (Biwako Visitors): Ishidō-ji
- https://www.biwako-visitors.jp/spot/detail/536/
- Wikipedia: Ishidō-ji (Higashiōmi)
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/石塔寺_(東近江市)
- Higashiōmi area cultural guide (Omi-ST): Ishidō-ji
- https://omi-st1400.com/content/82
Last verified: 2026.06.03