The Hall of the Hotoku Movement
The Former Totomi Province Hotokusha Public Hall (Dainihon Hotokusha Great Lecture Hall) (旧遠江国報徳社公会堂（大日本報徳社大講堂）) is the assembly hall of the Hotoku movement of 1903 in Kakegawa, Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on June 30, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a two-storey timber hall with a tiled hip-and-gable roof and a building area of 315.09 square metres, with a front entrance and a rear lavatory attached; designation number 02542.
A Base for the Hotoku Teachings
The Former Totomi Province Hotokusha Public Hall stands northeast of Kakegawa Castle. It was built as the headquarters for spreading the Hotoku teachings, which systematized the thought of the agrarian reformer Ninomiya Sontoku and urged practical improvement of village life (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Work began in July 1902, the ridge was raised on October 10 of that year, and the hall was finished on April 5, 1903; the ridge date comes from the ridge tablet.
Kakegawa City says it was first called the public hall of the Totomi Hotokusha agricultural society, was the second building in Japan put up as a public hall, and is the oldest one still standing. It remains the great lecture hall of the Dainihon Hotokusha (also written Dainippon Hotokusha), still used for monthly meetings and lectures.
The hall measures 20 metres by 15.8 metres and faces east, straight ahead as you pass through the front gate (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The ground floor is Japanese, with plastered walls showing their timber posts, glazed sliding doors and clapboard dadoes; the upper floor is Western, with smooth plastered walls, sash windows and semicircular fanlights.
Why It Is an Important Cultural Property
The Agency for Cultural Affairs praises its distinctive exterior, Japanese below and Western above within a traditional timber frame, and the open interior with galleries hung from the roof structure. As the assembly hall of the movement's central body, it represents Japan's large modern public halls in the Japanese manner. It was designated an Important Cultural Property on June 30, 2009.
What to Look For
The heart of the hall is an 81-mat great room on the ground floor, open to the roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs). A raised stage with an alcove fills the centre of the west side, and galleries hung from the roof structure run round the north, east and south sides above.
Outside, look at the corners of the upper floor. Eight pilasters carry ornament suggesting capitals and bases, and beside the projecting east front stand 2 round columns with acanthus capitals and fluted shafts (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The projecting room on the upper front enshrines a seated figure of Ninomiya Sontoku.
Visiting
According to the Dainihon Hotokusha, visits are possible from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., admission is 300 yen (free up to high school age), and the hall is closed from December 29 to January 4. When the rooms are hired out the interior may not be open, but looking at the exterior is free.
Kakegawa City notes that repair and earthquake strengthening began in 2004. The grounds also hold the front gate and other buildings designated by Shizuoka Prefecture, and the great lecture hall stands directly behind that gate (Kakegawa City).
Q&A
- When was the Former Totomi Province Hotokusha Public Hall built?
- It was finished on April 5, 1903 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Can I visit the Dainihon Hotokusha great lecture hall?
- Yes, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; admission is 300 yen, free up to high school age (Dainihon Hotokusha).
- What makes the Hotokusha hall unusual?
- Its Japanese ground floor, Western upper floor and galleries hung around an 81-mat hall.
- Where is the Hotokusha hall?
- At 1176 Kakegawa, Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, northeast of Kakegawa Castle.
- When was the Former Totomi Province Hotokusha Public Hall (Dainihon Hotokusha Great Lecture Hall) designated an Important Cultural Property?
- On June 30, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Former Totomi Province Hotokusha Public Hall (Dainihon Hotokusha Great Lecture Hall) (旧遠江国報徳社公会堂（大日本報徳社大講堂）) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1176 Kakegawa, Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Designated 2009/06/30 (Heisei 21) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber, hip-and-gable tiled roof, 315.09 m², 20 m by 15.8 m |
| Owner | Dainihon Hotokusha (public interest incorporated association) |
| Public Access | Open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (300 yen) |
References
- Former Totomi Province Hotokusha Public Hall (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/00004335
- Dainihon Hotokusha (Kakegawa City, Japanese)
- https://www.city.kakegawa.shizuoka.jp/gyosei/docs/9389.html
- Dainihon Hotokusha official site (Japanese)
- https://hotoku.jimdoweb.com/
Last verified: 2026.10.15