Daigoji Temple Seiryugu Worship Hall

A Worship Hall Built Out over a Cliff

The Daigoji Temple Seiryugu Worship Hall (醍醐寺清滝宮拝殿) is the mid-Muromachi worship hall of the Seiryugu shrine in the upper precinct of Daigoji in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1954 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a hall built out on tall posts, seven bays by three, single storey, hip-and-gable and entered at the gable end, with a three-bay porch and cusped eave gable.

According to the Agency, the Seiryugu of the upper temple was founded in 1089, and the present worship hall was raised in 1434.

Structure

According to the Agency, the hall was originally three bays square, but after a fire on 27 January 1410 the main shrine was rebuilt in 1439, the worship hall having been raised five years earlier in 1434.

It is a large hall seven bays by three; because it stands against a steep cliff, the floor at the front is carried on tall posts, giving it a distinctive profile. Chamfered square posts carry boat-shaped arms supporting light eaves, and top-hinged shutters fill the bays.

What to Look For

The Agency notes that these domestic-style techniques appear to carry on palace architecture, and that the cusped eave gable and frog-leg struts of the porch show early Muromachi style.

The Agency calls it an important surviving Muromachi worship hall.

Visiting the Daigoji Temple Seiryugu Worship Hall

Daigoji is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in summer and 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter.

The temple layout and visiting information are on the Daigoji group page.