What the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate is
The Hokoji Temple Outer Gate (方広寺総門), at Hokoji in the Okuyama district of Inasa-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, dates from the middle Meiji years, between 1883 and 1897, and entered the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019. It faces south at the entrance to the approach, below the Main Gate.
The gate is timber with a pantiled roof and a frontage of 4.4 metres. It is a single-bay koraimon under a gabled roof, with wing walls turning forward at right angles on either side. In this form, subsidiary posts stand behind the main posts, a large gable rides on the main posts and small roofs cover the ones behind, an arrangement long used at the outer boundaries of castles and temples.
A gate without doors
The Hokoji Temple Outer Gate has no doors. It cannot be shut and stands permanently open as a passage. The Hamamatsu tourism authority introduces it by its local name, the black gate.
Why the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate was registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the number is 22-280, the highest issued to any building at Hokoji.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record praises careful work in good timber that lends dignity to the ground before the temple. The assessment rests on material and joinery rather than on quantity of ornament.
The construction is spare. The main posts are tied by a lintel beam with carved projecting ends, and a lattice fills the space between that beam and the ridge piece. The eave purlin is carried on two tiers of arms inserted directly into the posts. Inserting arms into the post uses fewer members than building a bracket cluster above it, which leaves the accuracy of each joint on open display.
What to look for at the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate
Stand in front and look up at the lattice above the main posts. Filling the gap between beam and ridge with vertical bars lifts the weight out from under the roof and makes the gate look light. The openness of a doorless gate owes something to that lattice.
Move to the side and the two tiers of inserted arms can be seen thrusting forward from the posts. Working in two tiers gains reach from a single post.
The wing walls turn a right angle and run forward. With no doors to close, it is these walls that narrow the approach and mark the point where temple ground begins. The Hokoji Temple Outer Gate draws that boundary together with them.
Visiting the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate
The Hokoji Temple Outer Gate stands at the entrance to the approach and, having no doors, can be passed at any hour. The admission desk lies further in, so the gate itself can be viewed freely from the street of shops below.
The south front and an oblique position off to one side are the two views worth taking. The front shows the relation of lattice to roof; the oblique angle shows the two tiers of inserted arms and the turn of the wing walls.
A pond and a row of shops face the gate. From here the path climbs to the Main Gate and continues upward to the Main Hall. Directions and admission are covered on the Hokoji Temple page.
Q&A
- When was the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate built?
- In the middle Meiji years, between 1883 and 1897. Its registration number, 22-280, is the highest of the twenty-two buildings registered at Hokoji.
- What is a koraimon?
- A gate in which subsidiary posts stand behind the main posts, with a large gabled roof on the main posts and small roofs over the ones behind. The form was widely used at the outer boundaries of castles and temples.
- Does the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate have doors?
- No. It cannot be closed and stands open as a passage at all times.
- What should visitors look at in the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate?
- The lattice set between the lintel beam and the ridge above the main posts, and the two tiers of arms inserted into the posts to carry the eave purlin. Wing walls turn forward on both sides.
- What cultural property status does the Hokoji Temple Outer Gate hold?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019, registration number 22-280, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokoji Temple Outer Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | 1577-1 Okuyama, Inasa-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 22-280 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 10 September 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber structure, tiled roof, frontage 4.4 metres, with wing walls |
| Owner | Hokoji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Doorless gate at the entrance to the approach, passable at any time; admission desk lies beyond it |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hokoji Temple Outer Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012930
- Daihonzan Hokoji: Grounds guide
- https://www.houkouji.or.jp/guide/
- iN HAMAMATSU, Hamamatsu and Lake Hamana Tourism Bureau: Okuyama Hokoji
- https://www.inhamamatsu.com/japanese/culture/okuyama-houkouji.php
Last verified: 2026.09.17
