Ninna-Ji Temple Golden Hall

A Palace Hall Moved to a Temple, National Treasure since 1953

Ninna-Ji Temple Golden Hall (仁和寺金堂, Ninnaji Kondo) stands at Ninnaji, Omuro Ouchi, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, designated a National Treasure on 14 November 1953. It had become an Important Cultural Property on 7 April 1900. The quantity is one building, the designation number 00146, and the owner Ninnaji. Nothing is designated as an appendage.

Its form is seven bays by five bays, single storey, hip-and-gable roof, a one-bay porch, heavy tile. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives the period as Momoyama.

The Agency's commentary reads: built as the Shishinden of the imperial palace in 1611 and moved here in 1643, it is important as the only surviving Shishinden of the early modern period.

Only, Not Oldest

The wording of the assessment repays close reading. The Agency writes the only surviving Shishinden of the early modern period.

Only, not oldest. Accounts elsewhere call it the oldest surviving Shishinden in Japan, but the Agency's record contains no comparison of dates.

And of the early modern period sets a boundary. It is the only one within that span, not the only one across all time.

The Shishinden was the principal hall of the imperial residence, where accessions and major ceremonies took place. What the assessment says is that one such building alone survives as a temple hall.

As with the representative example at Ankokuji, the oldest school building of the Edo period at the Yubikan, and the different character at Hokaiji, the words of assessment carry a limit that fixes their range.

Two Dates for the Building

The Agency's records give the year in two places.

The commentary says the Shishinden was built in 1611. The date field of the national database gives 1613.

Two years apart, within the same body of record. Commentary and date field do not agree.

This article takes neither as settled and records that both stand.

The move to Ninnaji took place in 1643, some thirty years after the building went up.

Turning a Palace Hall into a Temple Hall

Once the Shishinden, this building now serves as a temple hall.

The record of form includes a one-bay porch. A porch projects from the front of a hall and gives worshippers somewhere to stand.

The Shishinden had no such porch. The principal hall of the imperial residence faced south, its steps descending to the courtyard before it. A temple hall needs a place for people to stand at the front.

The Agency records no alterations made at the time of the move, but the presence of a one-bay porch in the recorded form can be read from the entry itself.

Seven bays by five is the scale of a palace hall, large for a temple. The roof is hip-and-gable, laid in heavy tile.

Visiting

Ninnaji is at Omuro Ouchi, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto City. The hall stands within the precinct and its exterior can be seen.

Whether the interior can be visited follows the temple's practice. Ninnaji holds several buildings and gardens, and conditions of access can differ from one area to another.

Outside, what repays looking at is the porch and the hip-and-gable roof. The seven-bay front reads best from a distance, where its width tells.

Hours and admission may change, so check the temple's information before travelling.