What Is the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo?
The Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo (清水寺根本中堂, Kiyomizu-dera Konpon Chūdō) is the main hall of Banshu Kiyomizudera on Mount Mitake in Hiraki, Kato City, Hyogo Prefecture, a single-story timber worship hall rebuilt in 1917 and entered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on June 7, 1999.
The Konpon Chudo enshrines the temple's principal image, an Eleven-Headed Kannon, and the temple's history traces its founding to 627 under Empress Suiko. The previous hall burned in 1913. The present Konpon Chudo was designed under the architect Takeda Goichi's plan for rebuilding the whole mountain and built by Ito Heizaemon. It covers 235 square meters and stands at the highest point of the temple grounds.
Why the Konpon Chudo Was Registered
The Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property for being a model of form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it appears to follow the hall that stood here before the fire. Rather than a new design, it was a careful rebuilding of the lost hall's character, put up in the Taisho era.
The hall is five bays wide across the front. Its hip-and-gable roof is laid with interlocking hongawara tiles, a veranda runs around all four sides, and a three-bay entrance porch projects at the front under a karahafu gable. Meguri, the Tendai school's temple guide, says the timber was cedar grown on Mount Mitake.
What to Look For at the Konpon Chudo
The Curved Porch Gable
Standing at the top of the stairway in front of the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo, you see the three-bay porch pushed out ahead of the great hip-and-gable roof, its eave lifted into the rolling curve of the karahafu. That contrast between the heavy tiled roof and the light, wave-shaped gable gives the Konpon Chudo its face.
An Inner Sanctuary One Step Down
According to Meguri, the Konpon Chudo follows the same plan as the Konpon Chudo of Enryakuji on Mount Hiei, the head temple of the Tendai school: the inner sanctuary floor sits one step below the worshippers' area, so the eyes of the faithful and of the image are on a level. When you look in from the outer hall, notice the drop in the floor.
A Hidden Eleven-Headed Kannon
The principal image, a standing wooden Eleven-Headed Kannon, is designated by Kato City. The city describes it as 139.3 centimeters tall, carved from a single block of Japanese cypress in the middle Heian period. It is not normally shown; Meguri says it is revealed once every 30 years. Standing figures of Bishamonten and Kichijoten flank it. The temple says that during the 1913 fire the image "took refuge on its own."
Behind the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo, on its left side, is the Okage Well, the spring said to have given the temple its name. Walk around the back of the hall and you see why a temple was founded on this summit.
Visiting the Konpon Chudo
You can pray at the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo from outside during the temple's hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last entry at 4:30 p.m. Climb the stone stairway beside the Great Lecture Hall, pass the Bell Tower on a landing partway up, and the hall stands at the top. The temple counts 80 steps from the Great Lecture Hall.
The principal image is kept hidden and cannot normally be seen. The temple has not published a policy on photography inside the hall, so follow the notices on site. 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 Konpon Chudo built?
- It was built in 1917. The previous hall burned in 1913, and the Konpon Chudo was rebuilt under the architect Takeda Goichi's plan for the whole mountain. The temple's history traces its founding to 627.
- Why is the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on June 7, 1999, as a model of form. It is a five-bay hall under a tiled hip-and-gable roof that appears to follow the hall lost in the fire, with a three-bay porch under a curved karahafu gable.
- Can visitors see the principal image in the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo?
- No. The Eleven-Headed Kannon, designated by Kato City, is a hidden image and is not normally shown. Meguri, the Tendai school's temple guide, says it is revealed once every 30 years.
- What is distinctive about the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo building?
- It is five bays wide with a veranda on all four sides. According to Meguri, its inner sanctuary is built one step lower than the worshippers' area so that worshippers and the image meet at eye level, a plan shared with Tendai central halls.
- How do you reach the Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo from the Great Lecture Hall?
- Climb the stone stairway beside the Great Lecture Hall. The temple counts 80 steps, with the Bell Tower on the west side of a landing partway up. The Konpon Chudo stands at the top, the highest point of the grounds.
Basic Information
| Name | Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo |
|---|---|
| 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 235 square meters |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Kiyomizudera Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior open for worship during temple hours (admission fee); principal image hidden and not normally shown |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001131
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/138401
- Kato City: Kiyomizudera Temple Konpon Chudo (Japanese)
- https://www.city.kato.lg.jp/kakukanogoannai/kyouikushinkoubu/shogaigakushuka/bunkazai/siteibunkazai/tourokuyuukeibunkazai/1545375286630.html
- Banshu Kiyomizudera Official Website: Grounds Map and Admission (Japanese)
- https://kiyomizudera.net/
- Banshu Kiyomizudera Official Website: Temple History (Japanese)
- https://kiyomizudera.net/enki
- Meguri (Tendai School): Banshu Kiyomizudera (Japanese)
- https://www.1200meguri.jp/places/56
- Kato City: Wooden Standing Eleven-Headed Kannon (Kiyomizudera) (Japanese)
- https://www.city.kato.lg.jp/kakukanogoannai/kyouikushinkoubu/shogaigakushuka/bunkazai/siteibunkazai/sisiteibunkazai/1543976564703.html
Last verified: 2026.10.04
