An Amida Hall of 1053, Four Buildings as One National Treasure
Byodoin Phoenix Hall (平等院鳳凰堂, Byodoin Hoodo) is an Amida hall of 1053 at Uji Renge, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, designated an Important Cultural Property on 28 December 1897 and a National Treasure on 9 June 1951. The quantity is four buildings: the central hall, the north and south wing corridors, and the tail corridor. It belongs to Byodoin.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the founding in two steps. Fujiwara no Yorimichi gave up his villa at Uji to make it a temple in 1052, and in the following year, 1053, he built and dedicated a new Amida hall. That hall is the Phoenix Hall. The temple dates from 1052; the hall from the year after.
The name Phoenix Hall came later. Heian-period records call it the Amida hall or simply the hall, and an inscription of 1680 on the altar reading Byodoin Hoodo shows the name was in use by the early Edo period. It refers to the wings spread to either side and to the pair of phoenixes on the roof.
Central Hall, Wings and Tail: A Symmetrical Composition
The Agency lists the four buildings one by one. The central hall is three bays by two with a surrounding skirt roof, hip-and-gable, tiled. Each wing corridor runs eight bays with a turn, one bay deep, two storeys, gabled, with a pyramidal-roofed pavilion at the corner, the two in exact mirror symmetry. Behind, a single-storey tail corridor seven bays long and one bay deep is attached.
The central hall houses the principal image, a core three bays square made to look larger by the skirt roof. The wings extend from either side of the hall and turn forward, carrying two-tier, three-storey pavilions at their corners. Though built as two storeys, the wings have no upper floor; they were not made to be climbed. The tail corridor runs straight back from the hall as a single-storey passage.
The Agency judges the exterior extremely varied and beautiful. A tall central hall, low wings to either side, pavilions at the corners, a tail behind: four buildings of different heights stand in a line facing the pond, and from the front their outline reads as a bird.
Why Four Buildings Form One Item
The central hall alone is an Amida hall with a skirt roof. A wing alone is a two-storey corridor no one can enter. Only with the four together does the design become legible: a palace of the Pure Land set down on earth.
The absence of a floor in the wings makes the point. They are not buildings for use but buildings for making a shape, spreading outward from the hall at the centre. The tail corridor does the same, adding depth to the plan. When the Agency concludes that this is a masterpiece born as a symbol of longing for the Pure Land, it is because the four buildings make a single image.
The pond is part of the composition. From the far bank the hall is reflected in the water, and the corner pavilions and the phoenixes on the ridge stand clear against the sky. The palace floating on a jewelled pond that the sutras describe is realised through the pairing of building and water.
Inside the Central Hall: Jocho's Amida and the Bodhisattvas on Clouds
The Agency describes the interior of the central hall as rich in decoration that draws on painting, pattern and mother-of-pearl, gathering the finest art of the Fujiwara at their height.
The principal image, a seated Amida, is by the sculptor Jocho and is held to be his only surviving work of certain attribution. Jocho created the Japanese manner of Buddhist sculpture out of the continental style, and this is the one example that remains. The statue is a National Treasure in its own right.
Above the lintels hang 52 bodhisattvas on clouds, playing instruments as they ride. These too are National Treasures; half are now kept in the Hoshokan museum with replicas in their place. The walls and doors carry paintings of the nine grades of welcome into paradise, the coffered ceiling is patterned, and the altar is inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
The pair of phoenixes on the roof are National Treasures as well. The originals are in the Hoshokan and replicas stand on the ridge, so the museum is where the real ones are seen.
Visiting
The garden opens from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., last entry 5:15 p.m. A combined ticket for the garden and the Hoshokan museum costs 700 yen for adults, 400 yen for junior high and high school students and 300 yen for primary school students. The museum opens 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Entry to the interior of the Phoenix Hall costs a further 300 yen. It runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. in groups of 50 every 20 minutes, with tickets issued from 9:10 a.m. inside the garden on a first-come basis until the day's allocation is exhausted. Waiting times can be long, so secure a timed ticket on arrival. Interior viewing is suspended on some days for services and events.
Photography inside the hall is prohibited. The garden paths are gravel, and the temple recommends its own wheelchairs. The interior of the hall and parts of the garden have steps and cannot be entered by wheelchair.
From Uji Station on the JR Nara Line or Uji Station on the Keihan Uji Line it is about 10 minutes on foot. Evening openings and seasonal events may require advance booking; check the temple's official site.
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Q&A
- When was Byodoin Phoenix Hall built and designated?
- Fujiwara no Yorimichi founded Byodoin in 1052 and built the Amida hall in the following year, 1053. It became an Important Cultural Property on 28 December 1897 and a National Treasure on 9 June 1951. The quantity is four buildings: the central hall, the two wings and the tail corridor.
- How are the four buildings of the Phoenix Hall composed?
- The central hall is three bays by two with a skirt roof, hip-and-gable, tiled. Each wing runs eight bays with a turn, one bay deep, two storeys, gabled, with a pyramidal pavilion at the corner, in exact mirror symmetry. A single-storey tail corridor seven bays long runs behind. The wings have no upper floor and were not made to be climbed.
- Why are the four buildings designated as one item?
- Because only together do they make the design legible: a palace of the Pure Land set down on earth. The floorless wings exist to make a shape rather than for use, spreading outward from the central hall. The Agency calls the result a masterpiece born as a symbol of longing for the Pure Land.
- What is inside the central hall?
- A seated Amida by Jocho, his only surviving work of certain attribution and a National Treasure. Fifty-two bodhisattvas on clouds hang above the lintels, paintings of the nine grades of welcome cover the walls and doors, and the altar is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Half the bodhisattvas and the original roof phoenixes are now in the Hoshokan museum.
- What does it cost to visit, and when is it open?
- A combined ticket for the garden and museum costs 700 yen for adults, 400 for junior high and high school students and 300 for primary students. The garden opens 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Entering the hall costs a further 300 yen, in groups of 50 every 20 minutes on a first-come basis; secure a timed ticket on arrival. No photography inside.
Basic Information
| Name | Byodoin Phoenix Hall (平等院鳳凰堂, Byodoin Hoodo) |
|---|---|
| Location | 116 Uji Renge, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | National Treasure (structure); component of the World Heritage site Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto |
| Year Designated | 1897 (28 December), Important Cultural Property; 1951 (9 June), National Treasure |
| Quantity | 4 buildings (central hall, north wing corridor, south wing corridor, tail corridor) |
| Dimensions | Central hall: 3 bays by 2, skirt roof, hip-and-gable, tiled. Wings: 8 bays each with a turn, 1 bay deep, 2 storeys, gabled, corner pavilions of 2 tiers and 3 storeys with pyramidal roofs. Tail corridor: 7 bays by 1, 1 storey. Built 1053 |
| Owner | Byodoin |
| Public Access | Combined ticket for garden and museum: adults 700 yen, junior high and high school 400, primary 300. Hall interior a further 300 yen, first-come, groups of 50 every 20 minutes. No photography inside |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: Byodoin Phoenix Hall, central hall
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/db/heritages/detail/194600
- Cultural Heritage Online: Byodoin Phoenix Hall, north wing corridor
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/db/heritages/detail/147141
- Cultural Heritage Online: Byodoin Phoenix Hall, tail corridor
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/189783
- Kyoto Prefecture Tourism Federation: Byodoin
- https://www.kyoto-kankou.or.jp/info_search/3456
- Byodoin: interior viewing
- https://www.byodoin.or.jp/guide/internal-view/
- Byodoin official site
- https://www.byodoin.or.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.02
Cultural Treasures in the Same Area
All are within walking distance in the same area, so we recommend visiting them together.
- Byodoin Phoenix Hall Transepts (South) 0.00 km
- Byodoin Phoenix Hall Chudo 0.02 km
- Byodoin Phoenix Hall Oro 0.03 km
- Byodoin Phoenix Hall Transept (north) 0.03 km