Honganji Temple Shoin (Taimensho and Shiroshoin)

One of the Largest Shoin-Style Buildings

The Honganji Temple Shoin (Taimensho and Shiroshoin) (本願寺書院（対面所及び白書院）) is the early Edo shoin (Taimensho and Shiroshoin) of Honganji (Nishi Honganji) in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1952 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey hip-and-gable building 38.5 by 29.5 metres, entered at the gable end, with eaves and verandas and a traditional tile roof.

According to the Agency, it was built in the year after a fire in 1617, and in 1633 it was moved west and turned 90 degrees, among other changes.

The Rooms

According to the Agency, the building divides into the Taimensho to the south and the Shiroshoin to the north. The Taimensho is a vast hall of 162 mats, with a raised dais of 37.5 mats at its north end with an alcove and decorative doors, and a further raised area to the east with shelves and a built-in desk. To its west are smaller rooms, the Sparrow, Wild Goose and Chrysanthemum rooms.

The main room of the Shiroshoin is the 24-mat Shimei-no-ma, its eastern ten mats raised and fitted with alcove, shelves, desk and decorative doors. A corridor runs around the rooms, with Noh stages to north and south and the garden to the east.

What to Look For

The Agency describes it as expressing the Momoyama great-hall form well and, with its lavish wall paintings and carved transoms, one of the largest surviving shoin-style buildings.

Honganji calls it a representative example of the grand Momoyama shoin style, fully fitted and adorned with gold-ground wall paintings and carving.

Visiting the Honganji Temple Shoin (Taimensho and Shiroshoin)

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.