Shinchokokuji Temple Guest Hall

What Is the Shinchokokuji Temple Guest Hall?

Shinchokokuji Temple Guest Hall (新長谷寺客殿, Shinchōkoku-ji Kyakuden) is an early Edo-period building in Hasederacho, Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan on 14 November 1953. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as 14.2 m by 11.5 m, single-storey, with a hipped roof covered in copper sheet, and dates it to the early Edo period, roughly the early to mid-17th century.

A kyakuden is where a temple receives and entertains guests. The Agency classifies the Shinchokokuji Guest Hall as a residence rather than a place of worship, which signals its different role.

On the Agency's map it stands about 90 metres southwest of the main hall, set apart from the seven halls and pagoda clustered around it.

Why the Guest Hall Matters

Of the eight designated buildings, the Shinchokokuji Temple Guest Hall is the odd one out in three ways: it is the only Edo-period building, the only residential building, and the only one roofed in copper rather than Hiwadabuki cypress bark.

Seki City calls it an unusual building that retains Muromachi style, and praises the view it forms with its surrounding garden. Since the Agency dates it to the early Edo period, that description suggests a building of the early modern era that kept medieval features in its design. It was designated in 1953 alongside five Muromachi halls in the grounds.

What to Look For at the Shinchokokuji Guest Hall

The pagoda across the garden

Seki City features the garden view of the three-storied pagoda from the Guest Hall, and the Gifu Film Commission's entry names the Mandala Garden, which borrows the pagoda as background scenery. On the Agency's map the pagoda is roughly 90 metres northeast of the Guest Hall, so from the rooms it appears as a distant accent beyond the garden.

A copper hipped roof

Every other designated building here uses cypress bark, but this Yosemune-zukuri roof is clad in copper. Spanning a plan of 14.2 m by 11.5 m, it spreads in a very different way from the hipped roofs of the small Buddhist halls.

From worship to hospitality

Coming to the Guest Hall after the halls around the main hall feels like leaving a space of prayer for a space of welcome. The point of a visit is to take in the residential building together with the garden that was arranged to be seen from it.

Visiting the Shinchokokuji Temple Guest Hall

This is the only building in the grounds with a published admission fee for its interior. Seki City and the Seki tourism association list it at 300 yen, with advance reservation required. Opening hours are not published, so confirm them when you book with the temple (0575-22-3464).

Photography is prohibited inside the outer gate, including inside the Guest Hall, so the garden view of the pagoda is one to remember rather than record. Directions and general rules are on the Shinchokokuji Temple page.