Muryoji Temple

About Muryoji Temple

Muryoji Temple (無量寺, Muryō-ji) in Aida, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, is a temple of the Sōtō school, and six of its buildings, led by a main hall rebuilt between 1810 and 1812, were entered on the national register as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on November 10, 2005. Its mountain name is Daieizan.

Matsumoto City's account of the temple traces it to 819, when a lord of the Nishina clan, the fifth-generation Izumi-no-kami, is said to have founded it as a Shingon temple, with Kūkai honored as its founder. It later became a Sōtō Zen temple after the monk Shunrei Shōyū, sixth in the line of abbots at Daitakuji in the Kitaazumi district, was invited to revive it.

Most of what stands today dates from the years after a fire in 1808, which destroyed the main hall, the priests' quarters and the bell tower. The main hall and priests' quarters were rebuilt between 1810 and 1812.

Six Buildings Registered on One Day

All six buildings at Muryoji Temple were registered together on November 10, 2005, under consecutive register numbers from 20-0194 (the main hall) to 20-0199 (the monks' dormitory). Each was listed under the same criterion, as a model of design.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs database dates them as follows.

• Main hall: 1810 to 1812
• Priests' quarters: 1810 to 1812
• Bell tower: 1815, from its ridge tag
• Treasure hall: 1830, from its ridge tag
• Monks' dormitory: late Edo period (1830 to 1867)
• Storehouse: early Taisho era (the database gives 1912 to 1925)

Sources disagree on the bell tower. Matsumoto City groups it with the main hall and priests' quarters as rebuilt between 1810 and 1812, while the national database follows the date on its Munafuda, 1815.

Seen side by side, the buildings fall into two families. The main hall, priests' quarters and monks' dormitory have hipped Kayabuki roofs in the Yosemune-zukuri form, now sheathed in sheet iron over the thatch. The treasure hall and storehouse are two-storey Dozo-zukuri buildings with tiled roofs and Namako-kabe lattice-tile skirting. The bell tower, open on all sides, is the odd one out.

How the Grounds of Muryoji Temple Are Laid Out

Everything at Muryoji Temple is placed in relation to the main hall, which faces south. The bell tower stands directly in front of it on the south side. To the east, the priests' quarters adjoin the hall and are joined to it by a corridor with its own entrance porch.

The treasure hall lies north of the priests' quarters, and the storehouse sits to their southeast. The storehouse's south foundation is raised on a tall wall of Tanizumi diagonal masonry, a clear sign that the grounds step down a slope. The monks' dormitory stands southwest of the main hall.

All six buildings fit within a few dozen meters of one another. From the front of the main hall you can take in the bell tower, the priests' quarters and the storehouses beyond in a single turn of the head.

Visiting Muryoji Temple

Muryoji Temple is a working parish temple, and it publishes no visiting hours, admission fee or schedule for opening its interiors. If you hope to see inside the main hall or the treasure hall, contact the temple beforehand (tel. 0263-64-2481). During memorial services and other ceremonies, it is courteous to keep your distance even outdoors.

By public transport, the Shiga Line of the Gurutto Matsumoto Bus runs toward Shiga Branch Office from stand 3 at Matsumoto Bus Terminal. Check the stop for the Aida district, the journey time and the timetable on Matsumoto City's bus pages or a route planner before setting out. Services are infrequent, so look up the return times as well.