Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor, the walkway in front of the Daisodō
Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor (總持寺祖院禅悦廊, Zen'etsurō) is a Taishō-era (1912 to 1925) covered walkway at Sōjiji Soin in Monzen, Monzen-machi, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 7, 2008. It collapsed completely in the Noto Peninsula earthquake of January 1, 2024, and its timbers are now dismantled and in storage.
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Zen'etsurō was a single-story wooden corridor running 33 meters north to south between the main gate and the Kōshakudai, the temple's kitchen and office building. It covered 69 square meters under a double-pitched roof of interlocking pan tiles (Sangawara-buki). The floor was beaten earth (Doma), and the ceiling left the rafters and roof boards exposed (Keshō-yaneura).
Fire destroyed most of Sōjiji in 1898, and the halls standing today were rebuilt over the following decades. The Agency's database dates the Daisodō and the Butsuden to 1913 and most of the cloister corridors to between about 1913 and 1924. The Zen'etsurō belongs to this same rebuilding, a passage tying the main gate to the priests' quarters.
Why Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor is registered
Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor holds registration number 17-0176, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency sees its role in giving the front of the Daisodō a dignified setting. Where the corridor passed directly in front of that hall, its roof stepped up one level, marking the center of the composition.
The Daisodō, which serves as both lecture hall and founders' hall, is the principal hall of the temple, praised by the Agency for its spacious interior and fine detailing. The low, long Zen'etsurō ran across its front, raised only at the hall's axis. That pairing of a great hall with the walkway that framed it is the part of the temple's layout the registration recognizes.
Two faces of the Zen'etsurō at Sojiji Temple Soin
The corridor was finished differently on each side. The west face, which looked toward the front of the temple complex, had windows with the cusped heads of Zen Katōmado, fitted with lattices, above board wainscoting (Koshiita) and below white Shikkui plaster. On the east face the windows dropped the cusped heads and were kept plain.
Spending the effort only on the side people would see echoes the arched windows across the front of the Kōshakudai. With its earthen floor and open rafters, the 33-meter walkway was a light structure beside the heavy halls of the Daisodō and Butsuden, but its windows were clearly composed for the view from the front of the precinct.
Collapse and planned rebuilding of the Zen'etsurō at Sojiji Temple Soin
In the damage report the temple released on January 29, 2024, Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor is listed as completely destroyed, along with the collapse of the Zen'etsurō middle gate. The reconstruction office's records state that the corridor and the Hakusan Well were taken apart between July 16 and December 20, 2024 as emergency storage work for registered buildings. Every member was tagged with a wooden label giving its number and position before going into a temporary storehouse.
When repairs begin, the stored members will be sorted into those that can be reused as they are, those that can be mended, and those that must be replaced. Under the plan made when the reconstruction office was founded, the Zen'etsurō is scheduled for repair from April 2032 to March 2033, as part of about 400 million yen budgeted for the three registered structures.
Visiting the site of Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor
Because Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor is dismantled and in storage, there is nothing of it to see at present. It stood between the main gate and the Kōshakudai, directly in front of the Daisodō, so visitors standing before the Daisodō are standing where the corridor once ran.
Parts of the grounds remain closed since the earthquake, and we found no notice that the storehouse can be visited. Directions, opening hours and admission are on the Sojiji Temple Soin page.
Q&A
- What was Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor?
- A 33-meter single-story wooden corridor linking the main gate and the Kōshakudai of Sōjiji Soin. It had an earthen floor, and its roof stepped up where it passed in front of the Daisodō.
- When was Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor registered as a cultural property?
- It was registered on March 7, 2008, as number 17-0176. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the Taishō era.
- Can I see the Zen'etsurō at Sojiji Temple Soin today?
- No. It collapsed in the January 1, 2024 earthquake, was dismantled between July and December 2024, and its members are kept in storage.
- When will the Zen'etsurō at Sojiji Temple Soin be rebuilt?
- The temple's reconstruction plan schedules the repair from April 2032 to March 2033. The timing may shift as the work progresses.
- What were the windows of Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor like?
- The west face, toward the front of the temple, had lattice windows with cusped katomado heads. The east face used plain windows without the cusped shape.
Basic Information
| Name | Sojiji Temple Soin Zenetsuro Corridor |
|---|---|
| Location | Ichi 2-1 and others, Monzen, Monzen-machi, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2008 (registered March 7, 2008) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single story, 33 meters long, building area 69 square meters |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Daihonzan Sojiji Soin |
| Public Access | Not viewable: destroyed in the 2024 earthquake and dismantled into storage (repair planned for 2032 to 2033) |
References
- Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sojiji Soin Zenetsuro
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00006831
- Database of Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sojiji Soin, Daisodo
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/00005607
- Sojiji Soin: Damage from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake (Japanese)
- https://noto-soin.jp/news/71/
- Sojiji Soin: Reconstruction Office Report No. 1 (Japanese)
- https://noto-soin.jp/news/90/
- Sojiji Soin: Reconstruction Office Report No. 2 (Japanese)
- https://noto-soin.jp/news/91/
Last verified: 2026.10.04
