Eizanji Temple

Eizanji Temple

Eizanji Temple (榮山寺) in Kojimacho, Gojo City, Nara Prefecture, said to have been founded by Fujiwara no Muchimaro, has an Octagonal Hall of around 760 to 764 designated a National Treasure on March 29, 1952, and a late Heian seven-storied stone pagoda designated as an Important Cultural Property in 1909 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The hall was first designated in 1901 and the pagoda in 1909, both under the former law.

The Octagonal Hall was built by Muchimaro's son Nakamaro for his late father, and was repaired in the late eleventh century, in 1549 and in the Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Two Properties

The Octagonal Hall has octagonal pillars throughout, board doors on four sides, early-style lattice windows between them and a stone finial base on the roof. Inside, great beams are set in a square on four inner pillars and purlins are arranged in an octagon above, a clever frame, with fine paintings surviving on the canopy and pillars. The Agency counts it, with the Yumedono of Horyuji, as a precious survival among Nara-period octagonal halls.

The seven-storied pagoda is a stone pagoda of the late Heian period (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Each property is described on its own page.

Visiting

No official visiting information was found.