Kyōzō

What a kyōzō is

A kyōzō is the building in which a temple stores its sutras; it is also called a kyōdō. It was built to keep large collections such as the complete Buddhist canon, and in ancient temple layouts it was often set before the lecture hall, paired with the bell tower.

Some contain a revolving octagonal bookcase, and the case or the building is then called a rinzō. The Japan Tourism Agency explains of the rinzō at Nikko that the sutras are kept in an eight-sided rotating case, and that turning it once is considered equivalent to reading every word of the scriptures inside. The sutra repository of Ninnaji in Kyoto likewise has an octagonal revolving case with many drawers on each of its eight faces.

Buildings range from simple square halls under a single roof to fireproof structures built like clay-walled storehouses.

Reading the records and the building

Records describe the building and its fittings. The sutra repository of Einichiji in Tamba, Hyogo, is a gabled, side-entry clay-walled storehouse with a raised roof; inside, the southern part is open to the roof over a space 4.9 metres square, and at the back an altar platform carries a palace-like sutra case with fan rafters, an unusual layout. Okayama Prefecture describes the sutra repository of Saidaiji as a hexagonal building housing an octagonal rinzō.

Records often write the two terms together. Articles should confirm from the record whether a building has a revolving case before calling it a rinzō.