What is Myokakuji Temple Main Hall?
Myokakuji Temple Main Hall (明覚寺本堂, Myōkaku-ji Hondō) is the main worship hall of a Shin Buddhist temple in Kisa, Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, built in 1928 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 6, 2024. It did not start out here: until 2020 it stood in the Ryōgoku district of Tokyo as the main hall of another temple, Jikōin (慈光院).
The building is a single-story timber hall with a hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) roof covered in pantiles. Its front is seven bays wide, which makes it what Japanese builders call a seven-bay hall, and it covers 284 square meters. At Myokakuji it faces east, with a broad Kōhai porch roof projecting over the steps.
From a Tokyo preaching hall to a country town
Miyoshi City's announcement of the registration explains where Myokakuji Temple Main Hall came from. It was built in 1928 as the main hall of Jikōin, which served as the shinsai sekkyōsho, or earthquake preaching hall, of the Tsukiji Betsuin, the Tokyo branch temple of the Jōdo Shinshū Hongwanji-ha. That was five years after the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 had devastated the capital.
Hiroshima Prefecture's documents attribute the design to the office of Matsui Kakuhei.
After roughly nine decades in Ryōgoku, the hall was taken apart in 2020, carried to Kisa and rebuilt for Myokakuji. The national database records its date as "1928, relocated 2020," and the registration covers the building as it stands now in its new home.
Why Myokakuji Temple Main Hall was registered
The hall was registered under the criterion of serving as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs points to two features.
The first is the plan. In Shin temples the Gejin, or outer hall, is where the congregation gathers in front of the altar area. Here an earthen-floored strip wraps around that outer hall in a U shape, a layout the Agency calls innovative. The second is the structure: the roof framing above the hall uses a Truss, a Western engineering method, inside what looks from outside like a wholly traditional temple.
Both the Agency and the prefecture sum the building up as a fine modern Japanese-style main hall, a phrase that captures this mix of familiar form and new thinking.
What to look for
Walk through the gate and you are face to face with Myokakuji Temple Main Hall. Start with the porch. Count the seven bays of the facade and see how many of them the porch roof spans; that is what the Agency means when it describes the porch as wide.
If you are invited inside, look down. One of the Agency's published photographs is captioned "earthen-floored outer hall and raised area within the railing," and it shows the packed-earth floor of the outer hall against the raised floor behind a low railing.
The trusses carry the weight of a very large roof. Step back across the precinct and take in the bulk of that roof, and the reason for an engineered frame becomes easier to picture.
Visiting Myokakuji Temple Main Hall
The exterior of Myokakuji Temple Main Hall can be seen from the temple grounds once you pass through the gate. Because the hall faces east, the facade is in sunlight in the morning.
Myokakuji is a working temple and has not published regular opening days or an admission fee for the interior. To see inside or to take photographs indoors, contact the temple in advance and ask permission. During services, please view the hall quietly from outside.
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Q&A
- When and where was Myokakuji Temple Main Hall built?
- It was built in 1928 in Ryōgoku, Tokyo, as the main hall of Jikōin, the earthquake preaching hall of the Tsukiji Betsuin of the Hongwanji-ha. It was moved to Myokakuji in Kisa, Miyoshi City, in 2020.
- Why is Myokakuji Temple Main Hall a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs highlights the earthen-floored strip that wraps around the outer hall in a U shape and the use of trusses in the roof framing. It was registered on March 6, 2024.
- How big is Myokakuji Temple Main Hall?
- It is a single-story timber building with a building area of 284 square meters. The front is seven bays wide, and the hip-and-gable pantile roof has a wide porch over the entrance.
- Can I go inside Myokakuji Temple Main Hall, and is photography allowed?
- No regular interior opening or admission fee has been published. If you would like to go inside or take photographs, contact the temple in advance. The exterior can be seen from the temple grounds.
- Who designed Myokakuji Temple Main Hall?
- Hiroshima Prefecture attributes the design to the office of Matsui Kakuhei. The national database does not name a designer.
Basic Information
| Name | Myokakuji Temple Main Hall |
|---|---|
| Location | 462 Kisa, Kisamachi, Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | March 6, 2024 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 284 m² |
| Owner | Myokakuji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the temple grounds; no set dates for the interior, contact the temple |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Myokakuji Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014947
- Cultural Heritage Online: Myokakuji Main Hall
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/531297
- Hiroshima Prefecture press release on the registration recommendation (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/556362.pdf
- Hiroshima Prefecture: list of cultural properties in Miyoshi City (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/591373.pdf
- Miyoshi City press release on the registration of Myokakuji (PDF, Japanese)
- https://www.city.miyoshi.hiroshima.jp/uploaded/attachment/19419.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.08
