Honganji Temple Goeido Hall

The Founder's Hall of Jodo Shinshu

The Honganji Temple Goeido Hall (本願寺御影堂) is the early Edo Goeido, or founder's hall, of Honganji (Nishi Honganji) in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, which in 2014 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs structure field records a single-storey hip-and-gable hall 62.1 by 53.8 metres with a three-bay porch and traditional tile roof.

According to the Agency, it enshrines a wooden statue of the founder, Shinran, and its framework was raised in 1636.

The Interior

According to the Agency, the plan measures 62.1 by 48.3 metres, among the largest of any surviving Edo building. The outer hall covers 441 tatami mats to hold large numbers of followers, with thick columns carrying rainbow beams across a vast interior.

The inner sanctuary is adorned with gold leaf, carved transoms, wall paintings and colour, and the structure uses advanced early Edo framing such as full-height posts, eave supports and varied rainbow beams. Honganji notes that the statue of Shinran is flanked by portraits of successive heads of the temple, and that a major restoration was completed in 2009.

What to Look For

The Agency places it at the summit of Shin Buddhist main halls, which grew from small meeting places into grand halls, and values it as a symbol of a head temple supported by vast numbers of followers and of great influence on society.

The depth is given as 53.8 metres in the Agency's structure field but 48.3 metres in its description; Honganji gives 48 metres east to west, 62 metres north to south and 29 metres high.

Visiting the Honganji Temple Goeido Hall

Honganji runs free guided tours of the precinct four times a day, open to all.

The temple's history and visiting information are on the Honganji group page.