What Is Myokoji Temple Zendo?
Myokoji Temple Zendo (明光寺禅堂, Myōkō-ji Zendō) is a late-Edo wooden meditation hall, dating from the late 18th or early 19th century, that stands west of the main hall of Myokoji Temple, a Sōtō Zen temple in Yoshizuka 3-chome, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City; it was moved to its present site in 1910 and entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 14, 2021. The single-storey hall covers 78 square meters.
A zendō is the hall where Zen monks sit in meditation. The Myokoji Temple Zendo faces southeast and has a hip-and-gable roof in the Irimoya-zukuri manner, covered in pantiles. It is entered from the gable end, an arrangement called Tsumairi. After the move it was altered in 1916 and again around 1959.
At Myōkōji, fire later destroyed the main hall and the tamaya, which were rebuilt in reinforced concrete. The zendō escaped, which makes it the only timber building among the three registered structures and the oldest of them.
Why the Zendo Was Registered
The Myokoji Temple Zendo was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The main hall and the tamaya were valued as models of form, for their early concrete construction; the zendō was recognized instead as an old building that gives the temple grounds their historic character.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs sums it up as a rare late-Edo zendō surviving in the grounds, and Fukuoka City's heritage newsletter likewise calls it a valuable late-Edo timber building that escaped the fire. Moved here at the end of the Meiji era, it also carries the memory of the years when Myōkōji stood in the town of Hakata.
A Curved Gable and Cusped Windows
The front of the Myokoji Temple Zendo has an entrance porch, or Kōhai, roofed with a mukō-karahafu, a gable set to face forward whose outline swells upward at the center and sweeps down at the ends. It is a mark of an important entrance, and placing it on the gable end of the building leaves no doubt where the way in is.
At the center of the front are sliding double doors, flanked on either side by Katōmado, windows whose heads rise to a flame-like point, a shape often seen in Zen temple buildings. The symmetrical arrangement of doors between two cusped windows gives the zendō its face.
Two Rooms and the Tan Platforms
Inside, the Myokoji Temple Zendo has an earth floor, or Doma, divided into front and rear rooms along the line of the front aisle columns, the Irigawa. In the rear room, tatami-covered platforms run along the walls.
These platforms are called tan. In a Zen meditation hall each monk has his own place on the tan, where he sits in zazen. One of the Agency's photographs, titled as a view of the tan from the front door, shows them lining the walls of the rear room. Seats along the walls with open floor in the middle: the plan expresses exactly what the building is for.
The front room is the space you pass through before reaching the rear one. Dividing the floor in two seems intended to keep the meditation area from opening directly onto the outside.
Visiting the Myokoji Temple Zendo
The exterior of the Myokoji Temple Zendo can be seen from the temple grounds. It faces southeast, so stand on that side to see the curved gable over the porch and the cusped windows on either side of the doors; the Agency's photograph was taken from that direction. The zendō is west of the main hall and southwest of the tamaya.
No public opening of the interior is advertised, and no public zazen sessions held in the hall could be confirmed. There is no published policy on photography. The rear room with its tan is a place for meditation, so consult the temple in advance if you hope to see inside.
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- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Myokoji Temple Zendo
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Q&A
- When was the Myokoji Temple Zendo built?
- In the late Edo period, between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was moved to its present site in 1910 and altered in 1916 and around 1959.
- Why is the Myokoji Temple Zendo a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- As a rare late-Edo meditation hall surviving in the temple grounds, it was registered on October 14, 2021, for its contribution to the historic landscape.
- Did the Myokoji Temple Zendo survive the fire at the temple?
- Yes. Fire destroyed the main hall and the tamaya, which were rebuilt in reinforced concrete, but the zendō escaped and remains a timber building.
- What are the tan inside the Myokoji Temple Zendo?
- Tatami-covered platforms on which monks sit in meditation. At Myōkōji they run along the walls of the rear room.
- Can I go inside the Myokoji Temple Zendo or try zazen there?
- No public opening or zazen sessions in the hall could be confirmed. The exterior can be seen from the grounds. Contact Myōkōji in advance if you would like to see inside.
Basic Information
| Name | Myokoji Temple Zendo |
|---|---|
| Location | 347-2 Yoshizuka 3-chome, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and other plots |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered October 14, 2021 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 78 square meters |
| Owner | Myokoji Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the temple grounds; no public interior opening announced |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Myokoji Zendo (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014116
- Cultural Heritage Online: Myokoji Zendo (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/583606
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs Recommendation, July 16, 2021 (Japanese PDF)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93246101_01.pdf
- Fukuoka City Cultural Properties: Rekishi no Kaze Vol. 34, August 2021 (Japanese PDF)
- https://bunkazai.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/files/NewsBlocks/d4646735-8d4f-46ce-95d4-140cf916f3bc/value01/NewsParagraph832fileja.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.05
