What the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship is
The Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship (方広寺七尊菩薩堂拝殿), at Hokoji in the Okuyama district of Inasa-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, dates from about 1915 and entered the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019. It faces east on a hillside south-west of the Main Hall, across a small valley.
The building is single-storey timber with a pantiled roof and a floor area of 25 square metres, three bays by two under a gabled roof, its walls boarded vertically. The entrance is at the centre of the front, and inside there is a plank floor under a batten ceiling.
Open at the back
What distinguishes this hall is its rear wall. The central bay is left open, and through it the building looks directly at the small nagare-zukuri shrine housed in a protective cover behind: the Shichison Bosatsudo. Worshippers stand inside the hall and see the shrine through that opening.
Why the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship was registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the registration number is 22-277.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record describes a quiet space of worship formed before the shrine. What is valued is the quality of the space rather than any ornament.
Plainness was the means chosen. Vertical boarding on the walls, a batten ceiling, a plank floor; no bracketing worth the name and no carving. The composition, an opening at the back with a shrine beyond it, carries the building, and the hall itself was made as a frame that lets the eye travel through.
The site works to the same end. Placed on a hillside across the valley, the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship sits well away from the movement around the Main Hall.
What to look for at the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship
Look straight through from the entrance. The middle of the three front bays is the doorway, and on the same line, past the opening in the rear wall, the protective cover comes into view. The building exists for that single unbroken sightline.
Note the vertical boarding of the walls. Boards laid upright and nothing else: no plaster, no horizontal tie mouldings. The decision to withhold effort is what gives this hall its character.
The shrine inside the cover is small and built in the nagare-zukuri form. It is dated by tradition to 1401, and the Shizuoka Prefecture cultural property record calls it the oldest wooden building in the prefecture. Because it sits within the cover, it cannot be seen whole from the front.
Visiting the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship
The hall lies across the valley from the Main Hall and is reached on foot from the forecourt. It lies in a different direction from the Three-Storied Pagoda, so check the route before setting out.
No interior access is published. Viewing is of the exterior, with a look through from the front doorway. The shrine beyond the rear opening sits inside its cover and cannot be seen in full from the front.
Cedars close in on all sides and light is low even at midday. Photography is unrestricted, but expect dim conditions. Directions and admission are covered on the Hokoji Temple page.
Q&A
- What kind of building is the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship?
- A hall of worship built to face a small shrine housed in a protective cover behind it. Dating from about 1915, it covers 25 square metres.
- Is the hall of worship the same as the Shichison Bosatsudo?
- No. The hall of worship is the front building; the Shichison Bosatsudo is a separate small shrine of nagare-zukuri form standing in a protective cover beyond its open rear wall.
- What should visitors look at in the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship?
- The open central bay at the rear, aligned so the building faces the shrine behind it. The vertical boarding and batten ceiling are plain by design, keeping the sightline clear.
- Where is the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship?
- On a hillside south-west of the Main Hall, across a small valley, facing east. It is reached on foot from the Main Hall forecourt.
- What cultural property status does the Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship hold?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019, registration number 22-277, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship |
|---|---|
| Location | 1577-1 Okuyama, Inasa-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 22-277 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 10 September 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, floor area 25 square metres |
| Owner | Hokoji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | No published interior access; exterior and the view through from the front are open |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hokoji Temple Seven Bodhisattva Hall of Worship
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012927
- Shizuoka Prefecture Cultural Property Navi: Hokoji Temple Shichison Bosatsudo
- https://www.pref.shizuoka.jp/kankosports/bunkageijutsu/bunkazai/1002825/1041003/1041889/1004986/1021423.html
Last verified: 2026.09.17
