What the Bell Tower Gate Is
Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate is a gate of 1903 standing partway up the stone steps that climb from the main priests' quarters to the main hall in the Tairyuji Temple precinct in Kamo-cho, Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture, facing east, and it was entered in the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties in 2013. It is built of timber, roofed in copper sheet, with a frontage of 5.3 metres. The form is a two-storey gate of three bays with one opening, and a temple bell hangs in the upper storey.
Of the nine registered buildings this gate is the newest. Recovery from the fire of 1894 ran through the priests' quarters in 1895 and the goma hall in 1901, and closed with Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate.
Bell Tower and Gate in One Building
A bell tower gate does what its name says: it combines a belfry with a gate. Height to hang a bell, and an opening to let people through. Two requirements usually met by two separate buildings are handled here by one two-storey structure.
The lower storey of Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate is braced by penetrating ties, with projecting bracket sets above a continuous head beam. It carries no doors. The upper storey is enclosed by vertical boarding, pierced in the central bay of the front and rear by a Katōmado, the cusped window of the Zen tradition. Its brackets are the three-part type and its double eaves run on fan rafters.
The absence of doors below has a reason. A gate set midway up a flight of steps is unlikely to be closed. The frame is given over instead to columns and ties, carrying the weight of the bell above down through the structure. Only the upper storey has walls; the lower stays open. That difference between the two levels is what shapes the building from outside.
The Point on the Stairs
Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate does not stand on level ground but partway up a stair. Visitors pass through it in the middle of climbing and keep going to emerge in front of the main hall. What can be seen changes at the gate, which breaks the monotony of a long ascent at a useful point.
Carrying the sound of a bell across a mountain compound calls for height. Building a two-storey gate on sloping ground adds the rise of the land to the height of the structure. The choice of position has a practical logic behind it.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the carving on Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate expresses the character of its period. Built in 1903, it is the last of the nine. Set against the dense carving of the Daishi Hall of 1877, it shows how taste shifted even within the Meiji era.
Seeing Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate
Because Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate sits on a stair, the viewpoint changes the building considerably. From below, the bell and the cusped window in the upper storey come square into view. From above, after finishing the climb and turning back, the angle looks down onto the roof and the ridge of the hipped-and-gabled form becomes readable. Both views are worth taking.
The lower storey has no doors and can always be walked through, and nothing restricts viewing the exterior. Whether the upper storey can be entered is not covered by any published guidance, nor is whether the bell may be struck, so ask at the temple. No notice on photography was found.
The fan rafters resolve when seen from directly beneath the eaves. There is limited room to step back on a stair, so shift position gradually rather than looking for one fixed spot. Directions to the precinct and the general conditions for a visit are collected on the Tairyuji Temple page.
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Q&A
- When was Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate built?
- In 1903, the newest of the nine buildings at the temple entered in the register of Tangible Cultural Properties, and the last stage of the recovery from the fire of 1894.
- Why does Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate have no doors?
- It stands midway up a flight of steps, where closing a gate would serve little purpose. The record of the Agency for Cultural Affairs states that it has no doors but does not give a reason. The lower storey is braced with penetrating ties instead.
- Where is Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate?
- Partway up the stone steps that climb from the main priests' quarters to the main hall, facing east. Anyone making that climb passes through it.
- Where is the cusped window on Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate?
- In the central bay of the front and rear faces of the upper storey, the level where the bell hangs. The upper storey is otherwise enclosed by vertical boarding.
- Can visitors go up into Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate?
- No guidance is published about entering the upper storey or striking the bell. The lower storey has no doors and can always be walked through.
Basic Information
| Name | Tairyuji Temple Bell Tower Gate |
|---|---|
| Location | Tatsuyama 1, Kamo-cho, Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2013 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, copper-sheet roof, frontage 5.3 metres |
| Owner | Tairyuji Religious Corporation |
| Public Access | Lower storey open to pass through at all times; no guidance is published on entering the upper storey |
References
- Tairyuji Bell Tower Gate, National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009674
- Tairyuji Bell Tower Gate, Cultural Heritage Online, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/278410
- Tairyuji, Temple 21 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage (official site)
- https://www.tairyuji21.jp/
- About the Tairyuji Ropeway, Shikoku Cable Co., Ltd.
- https://www.shikoku-cable.co.jp/tairyuji/outline/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
