Teishoji Temple Shoin

Teishoji Temple Shoin at a Glance

The Teishoji Temple Shoin (貞照寺書院, Teishōji Shoin) is a small reception wing built in 1933 onto the north side of the priests' quarters at Teishoji Temple in Unuma Hoshakujicho, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on 3 August 2006.

A shoin is a formal room for receiving guests, study or contemplation. This single-storey timber building has a tiled roof and a building area of 50 square metres. Its Yosemune-zukuri hipped roof, covered in Sangawara-buki tiles, runs north to south, and its southern end joins the priests' quarters in the northeast part of the grounds.

Why the Teishoji Temple Shoin Was Registered

The Teishoji Temple Shoin was registered as a model of design. What the Agency for Cultural Affairs highlights is the way elements of the Sukiya-zukuri style, the refined, rustic manner associated with tea architecture, have been worked into key places.

Next door, the priests' quarters present a formal face with a hip-and-gable roof and a curved-gable porch. The shoin, by contrast, is a light and open sitting room. Giving two connected buildings such different characters shows the range of Japanese-style architecture in the early Showa years.

What to Look for at the Teishoji Temple Shoin

Two Rooms and a West Veranda

The plan pairs an 8-mat room with a Tokonoma alcove and shelves on the north with a 6-mat room on the south, and a veranda runs along the west side. Paper shoji fill the small wall panels between the rooms, and glass doors fill those around the outside, so light and air pass easily through. The national register description names this openness as a defining quality.

A Cherry-Wood Alcove Post with Its Bark

The Tokobashira, the decorative post of the alcove in the 8-mat room, is cherry with the bark left on. Posts that keep the natural shape of the trunk are a favourite sukiya material, and this one sets the gentle mood of the room.

A Woven Ceiling above the Shelves

Over the shelves beside the alcove is an Ajiro-tenjō, a ceiling of thin woven strips. Mixing a patch of woven ceiling into an otherwise flat one is another typical sukiya touch.

Visiting the Teishoji Temple Shoin

The Teishoji Temple Shoin is used together with the priests' quarters, and the temple website does not advertise any interior opening. Its exterior can be seen north of the priests' quarters, toward the northeast of the grounds. The veranda faces west, so look from inside the grounds to see the open side lined with glass doors.

The alcove post and woven ceiling are indoor features, so from outside you will mainly read the low hipped roof and the veranda. For access and opening hours, see the Teishoji Temple page.