Chion-in Temple Main Hall (Miedo)

The Great Hall Built by Tokugawa Iemitsu

The Chion-in Temple Main Hall (Miedo) (知恩院本堂（御影堂）) is the early Edo main hall (Miedo) of Chion-in in Rinka-cho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, which in 2002 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey hip-and-gable hall eleven bays by nine, with a five-bay front porch and three-bay rear porch, roofed in traditional tiles.

According to the Agency, it was built by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1639 after the previous hall burned in 1633.

The Hall

According to the Agency, it stands on the middle level of the temple among the central buildings, a hip-and-gable hall eleven bays by nine with a tiled roof.

Its exterior is unified in Japanese style, while inside, skilful Zen-style techniques create a space with a forest of columns, expressing to the full the architectural character of a Jodo main hall.

What to Look For

The Agency regards it as outstanding in design and technique, highly accomplished, and representative of the great Tokugawa building projects of the early Edo period, of very great value in Japanese architectural history.

It creates a vast scale and splendid interior befitting the head temple and, as the central building of the Jodo school, has deep cultural and historical significance.

Visiting the Chion-in Temple Main Hall (Miedo)

Chion-in says its gates are open 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; photography and recording inside the halls are prohibited.

The temple layout and visiting information are on the Chion-in group page.