Shrine Buildings, an Important Cultural Property since 2017
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Buildings (北口本宮冨士浅間神社, Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Jinja) stand at Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture, listed as an Important Cultural Property on 28 November 2017. The listing is as an Important Cultural Property, not a National Treasure, and the owner is the shrine as a religious corporation.
Eight entries can be confirmed on Cultural Heritage Online: the worship and offering halls, the gate of the guardian deities, the sacred dance hall, the ablution pavilion, the Suwa shrine worship hall, the Fukuchi Hachiman shrine, the shrine office, and the Ebisu shrine with its openwork fence. The full count including the main hall wants checking by hand.
The Agency records that the shrine stands at the foot of the northern slope of Mount Fuji, at the start of the Yoshida climbing route.
Some Dates Are Approximate and Some Are Not
The year of building is given differently from one structure to another.
The date field for the worship and offering halls reads about 1739.
For the gate of the guardian deities it reads 1736, with no qualification.
Three years apart, one approximate and one exact.
At the Yoichi distillery, the still house was given as about 1935 and the office block as about 1942, both approximate.
Here the certainty of the dating divides within one property.
Rebuilt by Subscription, Built by Local Carpenters
Who paid and who built are both recorded.
The Agency records that in the middle of the eighteenth century Murakami Kosei, sixth head of a Fuji devotional association in Edo, gathered donations in many places and rebuilt the shrine buildings, which had fallen into disrepair.
Donations were gathered in many places. At the Daizenji main hall, the cost was raised by a levy of ten mon per household across two provinces. That is a levy within a defined area.
Here the money came from many places, and a religious association carried the work.
Of the building itself: the work was done by carpenters of the local district, and the characteristics of their school can be recognised throughout.
With the iron pagoda, Eison commissioned and the craftsman Fujiwara no Muneyasu made it, two men named. Here it is not a personal name but a local school of carpenters.
Regional Character Itself Given as the Value
The assessment closes on the local rather than the central.
Raised against the flourishing of Fuji devotion, the record says, these are shrine buildings of marked regional character, and are important as such.
That the regional character is marked is itself the reason for the importance.
At the Myooin main hall the word was standard; at the Osasahara main hall, among the finest; at the Senjuji founder's hall, an index. All place the property within a whole.
At the Shofukuji Jizo hall, close resemblance to another building served as evidence of a standard. There, agreement was the ground.
Here difference from elsewhere is the ground. As a way of stating value this is a fourth form.
Visiting
The buildings stand at Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture, owned by the shrine.
The worship and offering halls count as one. The worship hall is seven bays by three, hip-and-gable, with a gable at the front and a one-bay porch under a curved gable, roofed in ribbed copper sheet.
The offering hall is four bays by one and joins the worship hall at its front, gabled, roofed the same way. The two connect and make one structure.
The ornament is recorded: the large curved-gable porch set at the centre of the front is worked with carving, colour and metal fittings, making a splendid space for worshippers, and the dance hall and ablution pavilion carry rich decoration too.
The gate is a three-bay, one-doorway, eight-legged gate, gabled and roofed in ribbed copper sheet, counted as one. The buildings stand in the precinct and their exteriors can be seen on a visit. Interiors follow the shrine's own arrangements. Check before travelling.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Yamanashi
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Q&A
- When were the buildings listed?
- On 28 November 2017, as an Important Cultural Property rather than a National Treasure. The owner is the shrine as a religious corporation.
- When were they built?
- The dates differ. The worship and offering halls are given as about 1739 and the gate as 1736, the first approximate and the second not.
- Who rebuilt the shrine?
- The Agency records that Murakami Kosei, sixth head of a Fuji devotional association in Edo, gathered donations in many places in the mid-eighteenth century. Local carpenters did the building.
- What is valued in them?
- The Agency calls them shrine buildings of marked regional character, important as such. The regional character itself is given as the reason.
- Which buildings are included?
- Eight can be confirmed: the worship and offering halls, the gate of the guardian deities, the dance hall, the ablution pavilion, the Suwa worship hall, the Fukuchi Hachiman shrine, the office, and the Ebisu shrine with its fence.
Basic Information
| Name | Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Buildings (北口本宮冨士浅間神社); several buildings recorded separately, sharing one commentary |
|---|---|
| Location | Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (structures, religious architecture); not a National Treasure |
| Year Designated | 2017 (28 November), Important Cultural Property |
| Quantity | 1 building each; 8 entries confirmed on Cultural Heritage Online |
| Dimensions | The worship hall is 7 bays by 3, hip-and-gable, with a front gable and a 1-bay porch under a curved gable, roofed in ribbed copper sheet. The offering hall is 4 bays by 1 and joins it, the two counted as 1 structure. The gate is a 3-bay, 1-doorway, 8-legged gate. The date field gives about 1739 for the halls and 1736 for the gate. The period is the middle Edo |
| Owner | Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Jinja, as a religious corporation |
| Public Access | Standing in the precinct; exteriors can be seen on a visit, while interiors follow the shrine's own arrangements |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: the worship and offering halls
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/392165
- Cultural Heritage Online: the gate of the guardian deities
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/436559
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Jinja official site
- https://www.sengenjinja.jp/
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.06
Cultural Treasures in the Same Area
All are within walking distance in the same area, so we recommend visiting them together.
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Shrine office 0.00 km
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Chozuya (purification station) 0.03 km
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Kagura Hall 0.05 km
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Worship hall and offering hall 0.05 km
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Fukuchi Hachiman Shrine 0.06 km
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Sujinmon 0.06 km
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Ebijusha Shrine and lattice fence 0.06 km
- Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine Suwa Shrine worship hall 0.12 km