A teahouse for pilgrims at the outer gate
The Minobusan Kuonji Somon Teahouse (身延山久遠寺総門茶屋, Sōmon Chaya) is a teahouse of 1894 facing west onto the approach road just inside the Somon outer gate of Minobusan Kuonji in Minobu, Minobu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2020/08/17.
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, it once received and refreshed pilgrims at the entrance to the vast temple estate, and it is a rare example of a chadokoro, a tea station, at a temple of the Nichiren school. Neither the agency nor the temple says how the building is used today.
Plain timber, open floor
The agency records the Minobusan Kuonji Somon Teahouse as a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a footprint of 109 square metres. The hip-and-gable roof is laid with standard pantiles, and a lean-to roof extends across the front.
The timber is left unpainted and the outside is plain. Around the entrance, an earth-floored space lies open to the air; behind it, the interior is essentially 2 rows of tatami rooms.
What to look for, and visiting
From the approach road you face the west front of the Minobusan Kuonji Somon Teahouse, with its lean-to and open earthen entrance. The nearby Somon carries a plaque by the 36th abbot Nichicho reading "Kaiekan", which the temple explains as the gateway through which all people are saved under the Lotus Sutra.
The temple website gives no information on visiting the interior. Photography outdoors is unrestricted. Inside the same gate, the Hocchinkaku hall stands on stone steps at right angles to the road. Hours and directions for the temple are on the Minobusan Kuonji page.
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Q&A
- Where is the Minobusan Kuonji Somon Teahouse?
- Just inside the Somon outer gate, facing west onto the approach road.
- When was the Somon Teahouse built?
- In 1894.
- What was the Somon Teahouse used for?
- It received and refreshed pilgrims at the entrance to the temple grounds; the agency calls it a rare tea station at a Nichiren temple.
- What is the inside of the Somon Teahouse like?
- An open earth-floored entrance area, with 2 rows of tatami rooms behind it.
- When was the Somon Teahouse registered as a cultural property?
- On 2020/08/17.
Basic Information
| Name | Minobusan Kuonji Somon Teahouse (身延山久遠寺総門茶屋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4007 Minobu, Minobu-cho, Minamikoma-gun, Yamanashi Prefecture |
| Designation | National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); registration number 19-0156 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2020/08/17 (Reiwa 2) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof; footprint 109 square metres |
| Owner | Minobusan Kuonji (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no notice of interior access or current use) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Somon Teahouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00013393
- Minobusan Kuonji official site — Guide to the grounds (Japanese)
- https://www.kuonji.jp/precincts/
- Minobusan Kuonji official site — FAQ (Japanese)
- https://www.kuonji.jp/faq/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
