Jakkoin Temple

Jakkoin Temple

Jakkoin Temple (寂光院) in Tsugao, Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture, has four buildings registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on July 12, 2005: the main hall of 1879, the gate of 1836, the Zuigudo of 1805 and the Bentendo of 1820 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All four are owned by the temple and were registered as models of design.

According to the Aichi Prefecture tourism site, the temple, formally Tsugaosan Hachiyorendaiji Jakkoin, is known as the maple temple of Owari, and by tradition began when the monk Dosho of Gangoji built a temple at the wish of Emperor Kotoku in 654.

The Four Buildings

The main hall is five bays square with a hipped roof, an open outer sanctuary in front and a Zen-style altar inside, a full-scale hall of restrained traditional form. The gate at the entrance is a thick-timbered yakuimon carved with a dragon at the back and peonies in the gable (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Zuigudo, joined to the main hall by a corridor, has a house-like exterior of hinged shutters that shows its use for retreats, and the Bentendo, on high ground to the north, is a tiny hexagonal hall with radiating rafters (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each building is described on its own page.

Visiting

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, with parking for 50 cars.