Kokuzenji temple gate and precincts that make up the approach (designated by the city as an important tangible cultural property)

Visitors to Kokuzenji Temple are first greeted by the stately mountain gate with Nio statues on both sides. This mountain gate is a representative building of Nichiren sect temples in western Japan, and is the largest gate of modern temple and shrine architecture still standing in this city. It is also valuable in that it is clear from the two remaining building plaques that it was built in 1840, making it an important building in terms of the temple's appearance at Kokuzenji Temple. After passing through this mountain gate, in front of the main hall, there are four sturdy stone lanterns, each 2.32 meters high, with an inscription dated 1671, the same year as the main hall and the priests' quarters were built. In addition, on the west side of the temple grounds, there is a bell tower with a gabled roof, shingled roof, and hakama-goshi-tsuki (a traditional Japanese skirting board), which was built in 1906 but is said to be a faithful reproduction of a building that existed before. In this way, the temple grounds including the main gate, main hall, and kuri area have well retained their appearance from the Edo period, and are extremely valuable as they form an integral part of the building. Date of designation: April 18, 1995 Summary: Temple gate: 9.00m long, 5.45m deep, three-bay, single-door double gate, hipped gable, and tiled approach to the temple grounds total 1,591m2