What the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office is
The Hokoji Temple Amulet Office (方広寺札場), at Hokoji in the Okuyama district of Inasa-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, dates from about 1888 and entered the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019. It faces east from a site west of the Hansobo Hall of Worship, linked to that hall by a covered corridor that turns a right angle.
The building is single-storey timber with a copper roof and a floor area of 45 square metres. The corridor is covered by the registration as well. Inside, three rooms stand in a row.
The name fudasho
Fudasho means a place that handles paper talismans. The Hokoji Temple Amulet Office sits beside the hall where Hansobo Daigongen is worshipped and connects to it directly, so that prayer and the receiving of a talisman follow on from one another.
Why the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office was registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the number is 22-274.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record calls the building plain, without bracket sets or gable ornament, yet notes that the eaves are carefully made with doubled fanned corner rafters. The judgement is that labour was concentrated at a single point in an otherwise unadorned structure.
Fanned corner rafters splay outward like the ribs of a fan where the roof turns a corner. Cutting and fitting them is harder than running rafters in parallel, and the result is a radiating pattern in the corner soffit. At the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office they are doubled, laid in two tiers.
The same record observes that the building helps form the solemn character of the north-western part of the precinct, together with the shrine-like Shinden and Hall of Worship. Its plainness is what lets the ornament of its neighbour register.
What to look for at the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office
Stand at a corner of the building and look up into the eaves. The rafters open outward like a fan, and a second tier sits above the first. With no ornament on the walls to compete, that radiating pattern is easy to pick out.
The corridor on the north side repays attention too. Rather than running straight, it turns a right angle before meeting the Hall of Worship, a shape forced by the fact that the two buildings do not share an axis. Standing at the bend, the misalignment can be felt directly.
The copper roof has weathered green and settles well against the cedars. Set beside the Hansobo Hall of Worship, which is also roofed in copper, the colours match and only the density of the design separates them.
Visiting the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office
The Hokoji Temple Amulet Office stands immediately west of the Hansobo Hall of Worship, on the route most visitors take. The exterior can be examined from close up, and the junction with the corridor is visible from outside.
To see the fanned rafters, move round to the south-east or north-east corner. From directly in front on the east side, the splay is hard to read.
No notice is published about interior access. If talismans are being issued, give worshippers room. Photography is unrestricted. Directions and admission are covered on the Hokoji Temple page.
Q&A
- Where is the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office?
- West of the Hansobo Hall of Worship, facing east. A covered corridor runs from its north side and turns a right angle to meet the hall.
- What should visitors look at in the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office?
- The doubled fanned corner rafters under the eaves. In a building without brackets or gable ornament, this is the one place where the carpentry becomes elaborate.
- When was the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office built?
- Around 1888, with repairs carried out about 1974.
- How large is the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office?
- The floor area is 45 square metres, with three rooms in a row. The roof is copper, and the connecting corridor is included in the registration.
- What cultural property status does the Hokoji Temple Amulet Office hold?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019, registration number 22-274.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokoji Temple Amulet Office |
|---|---|
| Location | 1577-1 Okuyama, Inasa-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 22-274 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 10 September 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, copper roof, floor area 45 square metres, with connecting corridor |
| Owner | Hokoji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior viewing and photography permitted; no published notice of interior access |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hokoji Temple Amulet Office
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012924
- Okuyama Hansobo Daigongen
- https://hansoubou.com/
- Daihonzan Hokoji: Grounds guide
- https://www.houkouji.or.jp/guide/
Last verified: 2026.09.17
