A Hall for the Founder's True Form
Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall (祐天寺地蔵堂, Yūtenji Jizōdō) is an Edo-period hall dedicated to the bodhisattva Jizo in the grounds of Yutenji in Nakameguro, Meguro City, Tokyo, built in 1788 and extended at the rear in 1800, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 24 December 2013. It is a single-storey timber building roofed in copper sheet, with a building area of 74 square metres.
It enshrines a statue of Jizo that the temple had kept since its founding. The plaque over the front reads Kaisan Honjido, "hall of the founder's original form", expressing the belief that Jizo was the true Buddhist identity behind the founder. The calligraphy is by Matsudaira Kozan (Yanagisawa Nobutoki), a grandson of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu known as a haiku poet, and the plaque was hung in the seventh month of 1788.
According to the temple chronology, Yutenji asked the magistrate of temples and shrines for permission to build the hall in the eleventh month of 1785, and received it in the second month of 1786. The plan was for a hall three bays square with eaves and a front porch. In 1800 work began on an extension at the rear, which was raised on the 21st day of the ninth month. The master carpenter was Horii Kinjuro, and the sculptor Murakami Sozen made a new shrine for the altar.
A Ceiling of Firefighters' Standards
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall as 3 bays across the front and 5 deep, with a Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof at the front, an Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable roof at the rear, and a Kōhai porch. Inside it is divided into an inner Naijin and an outer Gejin; the rearmost bay is further set off by Kōryō tie beams to hold a Shumidan altar platform with a shrine cabinet. The two roof forms record the join between the hall of 1788 and the extension of 1800.
There are two ceilings. The inner sanctuary has a raised coffered ceiling, while the outer sanctuary has a Gō-tenjō coffered ceiling painted with the matoi standards of Edo's town fire brigades, and carved Ranma transoms mark the boundary between the two. The hall was registered under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape; covering a Buddhist ceiling with brigade standards preserves in the building itself the bond between the temple and the machi-bikeshi.
Inside the shrine cabinet are two memorial tablets placed by Tokugawa Harutomi, lord of the Kishu domain, and the temple chronology concludes that he probably donated the cabinet. After the hall was built, permission to roof it in copper came in 1789, and in the sixth month of that year the young steeplejacks of the E brigade set a stone water basin in front of it.
Seen From the Forecourt
Pass through the Jizo Hall gate and the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall stands straight ahead. From the front, the hipped roof over the porch is all you see, and the hall looks small. Walk round to the side and the hip-and-gable roof continues behind, revealing that the hall is deeper than it is wide. The change in roof form marks where the extension of 1800 begins.
Seeing the seven matoi carved in the gate ceiling first and then approaching the hall makes clear how much the firefighters mattered here. The water pavilion and well in front of the hall were rebuilt by the E brigade in 1896, but the damage report after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake lists the Jizo Hall's water pavilion as destroyed.
Visiting the Jizo Hall
The exterior of the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall can be viewed freely from the grounds. The interior with its painted ceiling is not entered on ordinary visits and can be seen only when the doors are opened for temple events; check with the temple office for any opening.
The forecourt is a place of prayer, so take photographs from a spot that does not block them. Directions and visiting hours for the temple are on the Yutenji Temple page.
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Q&A
- Can I see inside the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall?
- The interior is not entered on ordinary visits. The painted ceiling can be seen only when the doors are opened for temple events; check with the temple office for any opening.
- What is painted on the ceiling of the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall?
- The coffered ceiling of the outer sanctuary shows the matoi standards of Edo's town fire brigades. The inner sanctuary has a raised coffered ceiling, divided from the outer by carved transoms.
- When was the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall built?
- It was built in 1788 and extended at the rear in 1800. The temple applied to build it in 1785 and received permission the following year.
- What does the plaque Kaisan Honjido on the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall mean?
- It expresses the belief that Jizo was the original Buddhist form of the founder, Yuten Shonin. The plaque was written by Matsudaira Kozan (Yanagisawa Nobutoki) and hung in 1788.
- When was the Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall registered as a cultural property?
- On 24 December 2013, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape. Its registration number is 13-0300.
Basic Information
| Name | Yutenji Temple Jizo Hall |
|---|---|
| Location | 5-1067-1 Nakameguro, Meguro City, Tokyo (temple postal address: 5-24-53 Nakameguro) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2013/12/24 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, copper-sheet roof, building area 74 square metres, 3 by 5 bays |
| Owner | Yutenji (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable freely from the grounds; interior normally closed |
References
- 祐天寺地蔵堂, Agency for Cultural Affairs Database of National Cultural Properties
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009715
- 祐天寺地蔵堂, Cultural Heritage Online
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/207434
- Yutenji Temple history chronology, 1785 (Yutenji Temple official site)
- https://www.yutenji.or.jp/history/nenpyo/page-33118/page-33501/
- Yutenji Temple history chronology, 1786 (Yutenji Temple official site)
- https://www.yutenji.or.jp/history/nenpyo/page-33118/page-33503/
- Yutenji Temple history chronology, 1788 (Yutenji Temple official site)
- https://www.yutenji.or.jp/history/nenpyo/page-33118/page-33507/
- Yutenji Temple history chronology, 1789 (Yutenji Temple official site)
- https://www.yutenji.or.jp/history/nenpyo/page-33120/page-33509/
- Yutenji Temple history chronology, 1800 (Yutenji Temple official site)
- https://www.yutenji.or.jp/history/nenpyo/page-33120/page-33532/
- Yutenji Temple history chronology, 1896 (Yutenji Temple official site)
- https://www.yutenji.or.jp/history/nenpyo/page-33145/page-33746/
- Yutenji Temple history chronology, 1923 (Yutenji Temple official site)
- https://www.yutenji.or.jp/history/nenpyo/page-33147/page-35929/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
