What the Buddha Treasure House Is
Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House is a storehouse of 1938 standing a little east of the main run of halls on the lowest terrace at Kosanji Temple in Setoda, Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2003. It was the first building put up here.
It is single-storey timber work under tile covering 83 square metres, five bays by two, entered on the long side, roofed hip-and-gable in Hongawarabuki. Inside it is a single boarded room.
The garden of Choseikaku spreads out in front of it, so the building also works as a backdrop seen from the garden. The temple names the main hall of Shinyakushiji in Nara as the reputed model while noting that in practice only a few elements were taken up, among them the long plan under a hip-and-gable roof and the simple bracket blocks.
Why It Was Registered
Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House was registered under the criterion for work not easily reproduced, but what is valued here differs from the other fourteen: the interest lies in the approach to design rather than in ornament.
The temple describes it as largely the founder's own free design, weighted toward practical use, and as expressing clearly the approach that would run through the buildings that followed. The first structure on the site, on this reading, already contained the programme for the rest.
At the same time, the temple notes that it carries no elaborate ornament, perhaps because it came first, and that plainness is treated as a characteristic in its own right. Coming to this building after the Main Hall and the Middle Gate, with their layered colour and metalwork, it is startlingly quiet. It was registered on 19 September 2003 under number 34-0048.
What to Look For
This is a building to look at for what is absent. Columns, tie rails and windows march at even intervals and the colour is held down. The useful approach is to check what has been left off rather than what has been applied.
Setting a tie rail and a window in every bay is one of the points where the Agency for Cultural Affairs commentary marks a large departure from the reputed model. Because a long wall is divided at regular intervals, from a distance it reads as horizontal banding.
The roof is hip-and-gable with the entrance on the long side, sitting over a narrow plan five bays by two. The gable ends are small and the front is long. That ratio gives a different impression from the Main Hall or the Middle Gate, for all that the roof form is nominally the same.
Viewing it from the garden of Choseikaku is worth doing. With the pond and trees in the foreground, the building settles into the background. Rather than standing as the subject, as the other halls do, it works as part of a garden view.
Visiting the Buddha Treasure House
The interior of Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House is closed and cannot be entered. Viewing is from the outside.
Turning east after the Main Gate brings the front of the building into view across the garden of Choseikaku. Stand square on to follow the division of the wall, or move round on the diagonal for the roof. To place the garden in front of it, walk to the far side of the pond and turn back.
Photography for personal enjoyment is permitted, including on a personal blog or social media account; commercial use without permission requires an application. Directions and visiting conditions for the precinct are on the Kosanji Temple page.
Q&A
- When was Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House built?
- In 1938, making it the first of the halls and pagodas on this site.
- Can you go inside Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House?
- No. The interior is closed and viewing is from the outside only.
- Why is Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House so plain?
- The temple suggests it carries no elaborate ornament because it came first, and describes the design as weighted toward practical use.
- How big is Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House?
- Five bays by two, entered on the long side, covering 83 square metres under a hip-and-gable tiled roof.
- Where is the best place to view Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House?
- From the garden of Choseikaku, where the pond and trees fall in front of it and the building settles into the background.
Basic Information
| Name | Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House |
|---|---|
| Location | 553-2 Setoda, Setoda-cho, Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 2003/9/19 (Heisei 15) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber structure, tiled roof, building area 83 square metres |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Kosanji Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable during opening hours; interior closed |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Kosanji Temple Buddha Treasure House (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003590
- Guide to the Halls and Pagodas (Kosanji Museum)
- https://www.kousanji.or.jp/map.html
- On Photography (Kosanji Museum)
- https://www.kousanji.or.jp/news/photograph-manners/
Last verified: 2026.09.14
