What Is the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo?
The Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo (清水寺本坊, Kiyomizu-dera Honbō) is the building that houses the temple office of Banshu Kiyomizudera on Mount Mitake in Hiraki, Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture; it was built in 1917 and entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 7, 1999.
A honbo is the main residence of a temple, where the clergy live and the temple is run. The monks' lodgings here were lost in the fire of 1913, and the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo was rebuilt under Takeda Goichi's plan for the whole mountain. With a building area of 694 square meters, it is the largest of the five buildings registered together. It stands on the north side of the approach to the Great Lecture Hall, at the west end of a terrace above a retaining wall, and the temple's website says the temple office is inside.
Why the Honbo Was Registered
The Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property for being a model of form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes its plan and roof in detail. On the east side, facing the Great Lecture Hall, is a carriage porch under a karahafu gable. The main block places a large hall and rooms for visiting monks on the south side and private rooms, including the steward's office, living room and kitchen, on the north, all under one large gabled roof. At the southwest corner a abbot's room projects outward.
Rooms for guests and ceremony face south; rooms for the temple's daily life lie to the north; one great roof covers both. The plan shows a large Taisho-era temple residence that gathers the running of a mountaintop temple into a single building.
What to Look For at the Honbo
A Karahafu Entrance Facing the Great Lecture Hall
The carriage porch of the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo faces east, toward the Great Lecture Hall at the end of the approach. Topped by the curve of a karahafu gable, it is the most formal entrance in the building, the face that greeted guests and monks arriving at the temple. When you look at the Honbo from the approach, find this porch and the direction it faces first.
One Great Gabled Roof
A single large gabled roof covers the main block of the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo, from the formal rooms on the south to the kitchen on the north. Because one roof spans a 694-square-meter single-story building, the gable ends rise as tall triangles above the walls. Compare it with the low hip-and-gable roof of the Guest Hall just to the east, and the contrast the Agency points out becomes clear.
The abbot's room projecting at the southwest corner faces south alongside the large hall, on the formal side of the building.
Visiting the Honbo
The Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo is in use as the temple office. Its exterior can be seen from the approach during temple hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m. Kato City lists the Honbo as open to the public, but the temple does not announce general visits to the interior; its website says the building can be booked in advance for training sessions by groups.
For questions about the interior or photography, contact the temple. Directions to the temple and admission fees are gathered on the Kiyomizudera Temple (Kato) page.
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Q&A
- When was the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo built?
- It was built in 1917. The monks' lodgings were lost in the fire of 1913, and the Honbo was rebuilt under Takeda Goichi's plan for the whole mountain.
- Why is the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on June 7, 1999, as a model of form. It is a Taisho-era temple residence with a karahafu carriage porch, formal and private rooms gathered under one great gabled roof.
- What is inside the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo?
- The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a large hall and rooms for visiting monks on the south side, the steward's office, living room and kitchen on the north, and an abbot's room projecting at the southwest corner. It covers 694 square meters.
- Can visitors go inside the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo?
- The Honbo is the temple office, and no general access to the interior is announced. The temple's website says groups can book it in advance for training sessions. The exterior can be seen from the approach.
- Where is the Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo?
- It stands on the north side of the approach to the Great Lecture Hall, at the west end of a terrace above a retaining wall, with its karahafu entrance facing east toward the Great Lecture Hall. The Guest Hall lies between them.
Basic Information
| Name | Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo |
|---|---|
| Location | 1194 Hiraki, Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered June 7, 1999 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 694 square meters |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Kiyomizudera Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the approach during temple hours (admission fee); in use as the temple office, interior by reservation for group training |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001134
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/114014
- Kato City: Kiyomizudera Temple Honbo (Japanese)
- https://www.city.kato.lg.jp/kakukanogoannai/kyouikushinkoubu/shogaigakushuka/bunkazai/siteibunkazai/tourokuyuukeibunkazai/1545444796181.html
- Banshu Kiyomizudera Official Website: Grounds Map and Admission (Japanese)
- https://kiyomizudera.net/
Last verified: 2026.10.04
