Shorenji Temple Main Hall

A Late Edo Shin Buddhist Main Hall

The Shorenji Temple Main Hall (正蓮寺本堂) is the main hall of Shorenji, a Shin Buddhist temple at Kamo-cho, Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1825, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on March 29, 2019 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey wooden building with a tiled roof and a building area of 332 square metres, altered in 1992 and 2016, registration number 37-439, owned by Shorenji.

Shorenji, a Shin Buddhist Temple below Goshikidai

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Shorenji is a temple of the Shin (True Pure Land) school at the western foot of the Goshikidai uplands in western Sakaide. Five of its structures, the mid-Edo gate, the Main Hall of 1825, the entrance halls of 1845, the sutra repository of 1879 and the bell tower of 1910, were registered together as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on March 29, 2019.

The entrance halls join the Shorenji Temple Main Hall on its east side and lead on to the priests' quarters, forming the core buildings of the precinct (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Shorenji Temple Main Hall was registered as a structure that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a fine example of a late Edo Shin Buddhist main hall in the Sanuki region.

What to Look For

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Shorenji Temple Main Hall faces south under a hip-and-gable roof of hongawara tiles with a one-bay porch. Round pillars stand inside and square pillars around the sides.

The porch is richly decorated, with dragons and baku carved on the beam ends and lively carp leaping through waves on the tie beam (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

The Shorenji Temple Main Hall is a temple building in the precinct of Shorenji. Please visit quietly, without disturbing worshippers or the temple.

The address is 1048 and others, Kamo-cho, Sakaide City. The five registered structures of Shorenji are gathered on the group page Shorenji Temple (Sakaide).