One Hall, National Treasure since 1964
Myooin Main Hall (明王院本堂, Myooin Hondo) is a late Kamakura structure at Kusado-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, made an Important Cultural Property on 7 April 1900 and designated a National Treasure on 26 May 1964. The quantity is one building and the owner the temple.
The designation of 26 May 1964 is among the later ones met here. The temple's five-storeyed pagoda was designated on 31 March 1953, eleven years earlier.
The hall is five bays by five bays, single-storeyed, with a hip-and-gable roof, a one-bay porch and plain tile. The date field gives 1321, matching the era year in the commentary.
The Two Buildings Change Places between the Listings
Hall and pagoda took the two steps in opposite order.
As Important Cultural Properties, the hall came first, on 7 April 1900, and the pagoda on 14 April 1913: the hall thirteen years earlier.
As National Treasures, the pagoda came first, on 31 March 1953, and the hall on 26 May 1964: the pagoda eleven years earlier.
The building listed first ended up designated second. Between the two stages, the order reversed.
At Jodoji, the pagoda was listed in 1901 and the hall in 1913, and both were designated on one day in 1953. At Kankiin, two buildings listed on one day parted when only one advanced.
Both buildings here became National Treasures, and their order swapped along the way.
The Structural Entry Matches the Jodoji Hall Word for Word
The structural field here holds a familiar string.
Five bays by five bays, single-storeyed, hip-and-gable roof, one-bay porch, plain tile.
The Jodoji main hall's structural field reads exactly the same, character for character.
At Sofukuji, the main hall and the first gate shared a commentary. Those stood in one precinct.
Myooin Main Hall and the Jodoji hall belong to different temples in different cities. Their structural entries nonetheless agree completely.
The dates are close as well: 1321 here against 1327 there, six years apart. Buildings of one form were going up in one period.
Two Manners Mixed, Not Three
The account of style differs from the Jodoji hall.
Of Myooin Main Hall the commentary says its style is an early example of the native manner with the Chinese manner, that of Zen building, mixed in: two manners.
The Jodoji hall is described as native in the main with Chinese and Indian manners mixed in, belonging to the so-called eclectic style: three.
The structural entries match, and the accounts of style do not. One has an extra element mixed in.
The assessments differ in kind too. The Jodoji hall claims to be among the oldest whose date is securely attested.
Myooin Main Hall is called a work that serves as a standard for dating the period when manners were combined. Not the oldest, but a measure by which others are placed.
Visiting
The hall stands at Kusado-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, owned by the temple. It stands in the precinct and its exterior can be seen on a visit.
The assessment opens by calling it one of the fine main halls of the Kamakura period. The word one carries a limit.
Accounts elsewhere call it the oldest eclectic-style building in Japan. The Agency's record says only an early example, not the oldest, and this article does not use that phrase.
The temple's five-storeyed pagoda in the same precinct is counted with the measure word for towers and dated 1348, twenty-seven years later than the hall.
Access to the interior follows the temple's own arrangements. Check before travelling.
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Q&A
- When was the hall designated?
- It became an Important Cultural Property on 7 April 1900 and a National Treasure on 26 May 1964. The quantity is one building, at Kusado-cho, Fukuyama City, owned by the temple.
- Which came first, the hall or the pagoda?
- It depends on the step. As Important Cultural Properties the hall came first, in 1900 against 1913; as National Treasures the pagoda came first, in 1953 against 1964.
- How was it built?
- The Agency describes it as an early example of the native manner with the Chinese manner of Zen building mixed in. The Jodoji main hall mixes three manners; this one mixes two.
- Is it the oldest eclectic-style building in Japan?
- The Agency's record says only an early example, not the oldest. Accounts elsewhere make that claim, and this article does not repeat it.
- What is valued in it?
- The Agency calls it one of the fine main halls of the Kamakura period and a work that serves as a standard for dating the period when manners were combined, so it functions as a measure.
Basic Information
| Name | Myooin Main Hall (明王院本堂, Myooin Hondo); the five-storeyed pagoda in the same precinct is also a National Treasure |
|---|---|
| Location | Kusado-cho, Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Designation | National Treasure (structure, religious architecture) |
| Year Designated | 1900 (7 April), Important Cultural Property; 1964 (26 May), National Treasure |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 5 bays by 5 bays, single-storeyed, hip-and-gable roof, 1-bay porch, plain tile. This structural entry matches that of the Jodoji main hall word for word. The date field gives 1321, and the commentary the corresponding era year. The period is the late Kamakura |
| Owner | Myoo-in |
| Public Access | Standing in the precinct; the exterior can be seen on a visit, while the interior follows the temple's own arrangements |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: the Myoo-in main hall
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/202069
- Cultural Heritage Online: the Myoo-in five-storeyed pagoda
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/195800
- Cultural Heritage Online: the Jodoji main hall in Onomichi
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/176362
- Fukuyama City: the Myoo-in main hall
- https://www.city.fukuyama.hiroshima.jp/soshiki/bunka/64279.html
Last verified: 2026.09.05