Jakkoin Temple Bentendo Hall

A Tiny Hexagon above the Main Hall

The Jakkoin Temple Bentendo Hall (寂光院弁天堂) is a small hexagonal hall of 1820 in Tsugao, Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 12, 2005 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber hall with a copper roof and a building area of 3 square metres; registration number 23-0198.

Radiating Rafters

The Bentendo of Jakkoin is a small hall of almost regular hexagonal plan on high ground north of the main hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Its front half is open with a board floor like a display shelf, a lattice door marks the centre, and the inner sanctuary behind is enclosed by board walls.

Its pillars and roof are hexagonal, and the ceiling ribs and rafters radiate from the centre (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is thought to date from the same time as the ink inscription under the pedestal of its Benten statue.

Why It Was Registered

The Agency registered the small hall as a model of design.

What to Look For

Look for the hexagonal pillars and roof and the radiating ceiling ribs and rafters (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Jakkoin Temple (Agency for Cultural Affairs). According to the Aichi Prefecture tourism site, the temple is open every day free of charge (prayers are charged), about 20 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by taxi from the east exit of Inuyama-yuen Station on the Meitetsu Inuyama Line, and 1 minute from the Inuyama exit of the Owari Parkway from Komaki-higashi IC on the Chuo Expressway, with parking for 50 cars. The main hall, gate, Zuigudo and Bentendo are introduced together on the Jakkoin Temple page.