Myogenji Main Hall

What is Myogenji Main Hall?

Myogenji Main Hall (明眼寺本堂, Myōgen-ji Hondō) is the main hall of a Jōdo Shinshū temple in Fukutomi-cho, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, built in 1938 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on December 5, 2007. According to Higashihiroshima City, the temple itself is said to have been founded in the mid-16th century.

The hall is a single-story timber building with a hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) roof of pantiles. It measures 7 bays across the front and 9.5 bays deep, so it runs deeper than it is wide, and covers 299 square meters. A one-bay Kōhai porch projects at the front, and a Zashiki reception wing of two eight-mat rooms extends from the rear on the right-hand side.

The carpenter Nishitani Shoichi

Myogenji Main Hall was built by Nishitani Shōichi (西谷庄一), a temple carpenter from Yoshida, now part of Akitakata City. Higashihiroshima City describes him as one of the master builders of the modern era; six years before this hall, in 1932, he worked on the Kannon Hall of Daishōin temple on Miyajima.

The hall was registered as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out its bracketing, in which bracket arms project diagonally and are combined with Odaruki tail rafters, and calls the result distinctive. The city likewise points to fine detailing throughout the building.

The carved Ranma transoms are attributed to Mori Kengō (森研豪), a carver from Ōmi in present-day Shiga Prefecture, so the work of two specialists from different regions meets in one hall.

What to look for at Myogenji

Begin at the front. The facade of Myogenji Main Hall is left open as a wide veranda, and a Kirime-en deck with a balustrade topped by onion-shaped finials (Kōran) runs along the front and both sides, so the deck frames three faces of the building.

Then look up at the bracketing under the eaves. In a diagonal bracket set (shakyō), some of the bracket arms project at an angle to the facade rather than only straight out, and at Myogenji tail rafters are added to them. Trace which arms run diagonally and you will see why the Agency calls the design distinctive.

Inside, the Gejin, the outer hall where the congregation sits, is crossed by two long Kōryō beams. Hiroshima Prefecture notes that each spans 4 bays and describes the result as a grand structure.

Visiting Myogenji Main Hall

The exterior of Myogenji Main Hall can be seen from the temple grounds. Myogenji is a working temple and has not published opening days or an admission fee for the interior. To see the beams and carved transoms inside, or to take photographs indoors, contact the temple in advance and ask permission; Higashihiroshima City lists the temple itself as the point of contact.

The city gives driving times of about 30 minutes from the Saijo interchange and about 25 minutes from the Shiwa interchange on the Sanyo Expressway. It does not describe a route from a railway station, so a car is the practical way to get there. Please avoid the times of services and keep voices low in the grounds.