What the Two-Storied Pagoda Is
Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda is a pagoda of 1861 standing on rising ground north of the main hall in the Tairyuji Temple precinct in Kamo-cho, Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture, 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 building area of 40 square metres.
In Japanese the type is called a tahoto: a square lower storey carrying a cylindrical upper storey, with a domed plaster collar between the two. Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda follows the type, with a lower storey three bays square ringed by a veranda and a circular upper storey above.
Different Brackets Above and Below
The bracketing repays attention at Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda, because it changes between the storeys. The lower storey uses a single projecting bracket set, and its double-layered eaves run on parallel rafters spaced close together. The upper storey uses a four-stepped bracket set, and its double-layered eaves are carried on fan rafters that splay out towards the corners.
Parallel rafters hold the horizontal line of a square plan; radiating rafters point to the centre of a round one. The rafter layout answers the plan in each case, and looking up from below the switch is legible in the exposed eaves.
Stepping the brackets out four times allows the upper eaves to project a long way. The result is a silhouette that does not taper awkwardly, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the profile as settled and stable, drawing the temple compound together.
Inside the Four Central Pillars, and the Year of the Metal Rooster
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that the space within the four central pillars is finished with a raised coffered ceiling and that an image of Kokuzo Bosatsu is enshrined there. The temple and the ropeway operator instead describe five images, the Five Great Kokuzo Bosatsu of the dharma realm, the diamond, the jewel light, the lotus and the karmic function. The sources differ on how the enshrined image is counted, and both accounts are given here.
The temple notes that this set of five is also enshrined at Toji and Jingoji in Kyoto and at Entsuritsuji on Mount Koya, and that examples in Japan are few. The merit ascribed to the five is the removal of calamity and the granting of long life, invoked in particular in the year of the metal rooster, which comes round once every sixty years.
The year of construction, 1861, was one of those years. That the date of Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda matches the character of the images inside it is worth carrying up the hill.
Seeing Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda
Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda stands on a terrace above the main hall, so the impression changes with the viewpoint. From in front of the main hall only the upper storey shows above the roofline. To take in the veranda and the three-bay division of the lower storey, climb to the terrace and stand square to the pagoda. The four-stepped brackets and fan rafters resolve best from directly beneath the eaves.
The pagoda is not a structure that can be climbed, and there is no published guidance on regular access to the interior. Whether the coffered ceiling and the enshrined image can be seen is a question to put to the temple on the day. No notice on photography was found.
Tall cedars and cypresses surround the terrace, so a clear full-height view is easier in the leafless months. 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 Two-Storied Pagoda built?
- In 1861, a year of the metal rooster in the sixty-year cycle. It was entered in the register of Tangible Cultural Properties on 21 June 2013.
- What image is enshrined in Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs records an image of Kokuzo Bosatsu. The temple and the ropeway operator describe five images, the Five Great Kokuzo Bosatsu. The sources differ, and both are noted here.
- How do the two storeys of Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda differ?
- The lower storey is three bays square with a veranda, a single projecting bracket set and double eaves on parallel rafters. The upper storey is circular in plan, with four-stepped brackets and double eaves on fan rafters.
- Can visitors go inside Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda?
- It is not a structure designed to be climbed, and no regular opening of the interior is published. Ask at the temple about access on the day.
- Where in the precinct is Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda?
- On a terrace immediately north of the main hall. It is seen from below when standing in front of the main hall, and square on once you climb to the terrace.
Basic Information
| Name | Tairyuji Temple Two-Storied Pagoda |
|---|---|
| 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 pagoda, copper-sheet roof, building area 40 square metres |
| Owner | Tairyuji Religious Corporation |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the grounds; no regular opening of the interior is published |
References
- Tairyuji Tahoto Pagoda, National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009670
- Tairyuji Tahoto Pagoda, Cultural Heritage Online, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/269896
- 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
