Chohoji Temple Great Gate

Chohoji Temple Great Gate: A Finely Proportioned Two-Storey Gate

The Chohoji Temple Great Gate (長保寺大門, Chohoji Daimon) is a two-storey gate built in 1388 at Chohoji in Kami, Shimotsu-cho, Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture, designated a National Treasure under the old system in 1900 and a National Treasure in 1953.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the Chohoji Temple Great Gate as a three-bay, single-entrance romon with a hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) roof of tiles. Kainan City says a copy of the ridge tag kept at the temple records that it was built by the monk Jitsunen by order of Emperor Go-Komatsu.

Why It Was Designated

The Agency calls the Chohoji Temple Great Gate one of the best-proportioned examples of a two-storey gate, with details in the traditional Japanese style that show the character of the early Muromachi period. Wakayama Prefecture adds that it brings Zen-style touches into a Japanese-style frame, uses novel carved ornament and shows structurally advanced bracketing at the eaves, making it a gate ahead of its time.

Kainan City notes that, though small, it is counted among the representative gates of its era.

What to Look For

The name plaque has its own history. Kainan City says the plaque now on the gate was copied by Ri Baikei on the orders of Tokugawa Yorinobu after Chohoji became the family temple, while the original, said to be in the hand of Prince Gyojin of Myohoin, bears an inscription dated 1417 on the back and is kept at the temple.

Look also at the eave bracketing and carved struts, where Zen-style details appear within the two-storey Japanese-style frame.

Visiting the Great Gate

Chohoji is currently closed to visitors while repairs continue after a landslide caused by torrential rain in June 2023. The temple's website expects the closure to last another 2 to 3 years. The reopening status and normal visiting conditions are on the Chohoji Temple page.