What the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower is
The Hokoji Temple Bell Tower (方広寺鐘楼), at Hokoji in the Okuyama district of Inasa-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, dates from about 1922 and entered the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019. It stands on a platform of rounded cobbles toward the east of the forecourt before the Main Hall.
The tower is two storeys of timber with a pantiled roof and a floor area of 15 square metres. It is one bay square with a flared boarded base, under an hipped-and-gabled roof. One bay square is the smallest plan a building of this kind can take.
The flared base
The base is boarded so that it widens as it descends, wrapping all four sides in a trapezoidal face. Above it the upper storey stands open on every side. This is the form the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower takes.
Why the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower was registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the registration number is 22-263.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record notes that standing on its cobbled platform it holds a presence in the forecourt of the Main Hall. At 15 square metres it is among the smallest buildings on the site, yet it is not lost in an open space. The staged composition does the work: the platform lifts it, the flared base spreads its foot, and the open upper storey lightens the top.
The upper level is carefully made. A veranda runs around all four sides, supported on double-stepped bracketing carried out from the posts, and a coffered ceiling is fitted above. The bracket sets are double-stepped, square strut blocks fill the spaces between, and the eaves carry double rows of closely spaced rafters.
What to look for at the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower
Look up from the cobbles. Platform of rounded river stone, flared base, open upper storey on its posts, hipped-and-gabled roof: four stages stack from the ground, and each is narrower than the one below.
Step directly beneath the upper veranda and the supporting brackets come into view. Arms carried out from the posts in two steps take the weight of the veranda, which is why it appears to float clear of the base.
Since the upper storey is open on all sides, the coffered ceiling can be seen from ground level. The Hokoji Temple Bell Tower is a small building on which nothing was skimped, down to the ceiling. A temple bell marks the divisions of the monastic day, and housing one this well says something about that.
Visiting the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower
The Hokoji Temple Bell Tower stands in the forecourt of the Main Hall and can be walked around at the base. The upper storey is not accessible, but because it is open on all sides its interior is visible from below.
For the proportions, stand toward the west of the forecourt; for the bracketing, come close under the platform. To take the tower with the Main Hall, put it in the foreground and face north-west.
The bell is rung at temple observances, including the New Year's Eve ringing, and the route through the forecourt may change at those times. Photography is unrestricted. Directions and admission are covered on the Hokoji Temple page.
Q&A
- When was the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower built?
- Around 1922, in the years following the completion of the Main Hall in 1915.
- What is the flared base of the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower?
- The lower storey is boarded so that it widens toward the ground, wrapping all four sides in a trapezoidal face, with the open upper storey resting above it.
- What should visitors look at in the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower?
- The double-stepped bracketing that carries the upper veranda out from the posts, and the coffered ceiling of the open upper storey, which can be seen from the ground.
- How large is the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower?
- The floor area is 15 square metres, one bay square, raised on a platform of rounded cobbles.
- What cultural property status does the Hokoji Temple Bell Tower hold?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019, registration number 22-263, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokoji Temple Bell Tower |
|---|---|
| Location | 1577-1 Okuyama, Inasa-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 22-263 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 10 September 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber building, tiled roof, floor area 15 square metres |
| Owner | Hokoji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior viewing in the Main Hall forecourt; upper storey closed. Photography permitted |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hokoji Temple Bell Tower
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012913
- Daihonzan Hokoji: Annual schedule
- https://www.houkouji.or.jp/schedule/
Last verified: 2026.09.17
