Honganji Temple Noh Stage (with Attached Hashigakari)

The South Noh Stage, Facing the Taimensho

The Honganji Temple Noh Stage (with Attached Hashigakari) (本願寺能舞台（附橋掛）, Honganji Nōbutai) is a Momoyama-period Noh stage of 1573 to 1614 on the south side of the shoin at Honganji (Nishi Honganji) in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, designated an Important Cultural Property on August 29, 1910.

Honganji calls it the South Noh Stage to distinguish it from the North Noh Stage on the other side of the shoin. The designation covers the stage itself, with the hashigakari, the bridgeway along which performers enter and leave, added as an attached item (Tsuketari). The Agency for Cultural Affairs files it under "other" pre-modern structures.

The Agency records the stage as 1 bay by 1 bay, single-storey, with a gabled Kirizuma-zukuri roof whose gable end faces the front, covered in Hiwadabuki, layered cypress bark.

A Gabled Stage Played to the Taimensho

Honganji explains that it has two permanent Noh stages, one north and one south of the shoin, as well as rooms in the Shiroshoin and Taimensho that can serve as indoor stages. The North Noh Stage is watched from the Shiroshoin; the Honganji Temple Noh Stage is watched from the Taimensho, the great audience hall.

The two stages differ in their roofs as well. Cultural Heritage Online's World Heritage description notes that ordinary Noh stages have gabled roofs, while the North Noh Stage turns a hip-and-gable front toward its audience. The Honganji Temple Noh Stage, gabled with the gable end at the front, takes the standard form.

At a single bay square, the stage is one column span on each side under its roof, with the bridgeway running off to the side and included in the designation as an attachment.

Conflicting Dates for the Stage

Sources describe the date of the Honganji Temple Noh Stage differently. The Agency's database assigns it to the Momoyama period, 1573 to 1614. Honganji's own guide says the South Noh Stage was put in order in the early Edo period. The World Heritage description on Cultural Heritage Online places its construction in the late 17th century.

This article follows the Agency's database, which underpins the designation. The published sources do not make clear if the other two dates reflect later work on the stage or simply a different view of when it was built.

Celebratory Noh for Shinran's Birthday

According to Honganji, celebratory Noh is performed on the Honganji Temple Noh Stage every year on May 21, at the Gōtan-e marking the birth of Shinran, founder of the Jodo Shinshu school. The temple traces the custom to Rennyo, the 15th-century head priest who used Noh performances as a way of spreading the teaching.

The temple's calendar lists the Gōtan-e on May 20 and 21, celebrated with Noh and with matcha served at the Hiunkaku pavilion.

Visiting the Honganji Temple Noh Stage

The Honganji Temple Noh Stage stands in the garden south of the shoin, buildings that Honganji treats as non-public cultural properties. On the 16th of every month except January, which the temple calls Shinran's Day, worshippers who attend the morning service and sermon may join a monk-guided tour of the shoin. Registration is at the Ryūkoden hall from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on the day, the tour runs from 11:00 a.m. until about noon, places are limited to 40 with no advance booking, and photography is not allowed.

The stage is in use for the celebratory Noh on May 21, but the temple's guide does not explain how the public can watch. Anyone hoping to attend should contact Honganji beforehand. Directions to Honganji and opening hours are on the Honganji page.