善光寺山門
Main Gate of Zenkoji
The two-story main gate (Sanmon) in front of Zenkoji's main hall. Completed in 1750, it stands about 20 meters tall. Five doves are hidden in the "Zenkoji" plaque on its front, so it is called the Hatoji, or "dove-character," plaque, and the character "Zen" is said to look like the face of an ox too.
About this photo
Zenkoji, in Nagano City, is a temple that has drawn worshippers from all over Japan for centuries. The Sanmon, its main gate, is a two-story gate that stands in front of the main hall. Work on it began at the end of 1744, and it was completed in 1750.
The gate is about 20 meters tall. On its front hangs a large plaque reading "Zenkoji." Five doves are hidden in the characters, so it is called the Hatoji plaque, the "dove-character" plaque. The character for "Zen" is also said to look like the face of an ox.
The gate was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1965. A major restoration from 2002 to 2007 returned it to its original appearance, and today visitors can climb to the upper story and look down on the approach to the temple.
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- Source title
- 『日本写真帖』（明治45年1月）
- Held by
- National Diet Library, Japan
- Why it's free to use
- Copyright expired (public domain)
- Original item
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View in the NDL Digital Collections
View in the NDL online exhibition "Exploring Japanese Landmarks in Nishiki-e and Photographs" - Taken
- 114+ years ago
- Added to site
We have not altered what the photo shows or its source title. About historical wordingAbout image restoration
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