What the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters Is
Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters (Suhara Family Residence Main House), at Tonomine in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, is a mid-Edo-period building that became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 3 April 2020. It holds the guest hall and the kitchen wing of Jimon-in, a sub-temple of Myorakuji, under a single roof covering 307 square metres.
Construction is placed between 1661 and 1751, with alterations late in the Edo period. The building runs east to west in the Kirizuma-zukuri form with a Sangawara-buki roof, and the Kuri at the west end is dropped a step lower, with a Geya lean-to skirting all four sides. Because the ridge steps down partway along, a passer-by can read the two halves of the plan from outside.
Inside, the character changes from end to end. The guest hall at the east is entered from a tatami-floored corridor and holds six rooms in three ranks, with an alcove in the room of honour. The west end keeps a sitting room north of the entrance and a kitchen beyond it. Reception and daily life sit back to back, divided by that step in the roof.
Why the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters Was Listed
Of the five buildings in the compound, only the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters was listed as a model of design. The other four qualified for their contribution to the historic landscape. This one was judged on its architecture.
What the assessors valued is that the plan of an Edo-period sub-temple survives intact. When Buddhism and Shinto were separated in 1869, Myorakuji became Tanzan Shrine and the head priest of Jimon-in returned to lay life, staying on in the same house as a family serving the shrine. The use changed; the building did not. A six-room reception suite built for a temple went on being used as the formal rooms of a private home.
The paintings are the second reason. Forty-one sliding-door and panel paintings from the four shoin rooms of the guest hall were designated an Important Cultural Property in 1974 under the title Wall Paintings of Former Jimon-in by Sakaki Hyakusen, and are attributed to that painter. They have since left the house and are deposited at the Nara National Museum. The rooms and the paintings are discussed together because those four rooms were built to carry them.
What to Look For at the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters
From outside, the roof does the explaining. One long Kirizuma-zukuri range faces east and west, and the kitchen wing is joined to it a step lower. Two ridge heights mean the roofline breaks once along its length. The Geya runs horizontally beneath it on all four sides, and the whole mass reads as long and low. On a mountain plot, that lowness is what lets the building settle into the slope.
Inside, the detail to know about is the tatami corridor along the east side of the guest hall. It is laid with mats rather than boards, and the six rooms open off it in three ranks, the room of honour carrying a Tokonoma. Formality survives in those two features.
The kitchen end is plain by comparison, a sitting room north of the entrance and a kitchen to the west. Read as one structure, the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters puts ceremony and everyday work side by side under the same roof.
Access to the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters
The Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters is privately owned and the interior is closed. Neither the Agency for Cultural Affairs database nor the Sakurai City cultural properties pages record any open day or special opening. The plot is private land, so there is no way to view the building from within the grounds.
The paintings are a different matter. Held at the Nara National Museum, they may appear in the galleries depending on the rotation, which makes them easier to see than the rooms they came from. Check the museum's own listings before travelling for them.
Directions to the compound and the visiting conditions that apply to all of Former Jimon-in (Suhara Family Residence) are set out on the group page.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters, and is the interior ever open?
- No. The building is privately owned, the interior is closed, and no open days are published. The grounds are private land and cannot be entered.
- When was the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters built?
- Between 1661 and 1751, in the middle of the Edo period, with alterations made late in the same period.
- Where are the paintings from the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters now?
- The 41 sliding-door and panel paintings from the four shoin rooms were designated an Important Cultural Property in 1974 and are deposited at the Nara National Museum. They are no longer in the building.
- Why is the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters also called a main house?
- It was built as the guest hall and kitchen wing of a temple, then served as the main house of the Suhara family after the separation of Buddhism and Shinto. The listing records both names.
- Was the Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters listed on the same ground as the other four buildings?
- No. It alone qualified as a model of design. The front gate, the private Buddhist hall, the small parlor and storehouse, and the heijumon gate qualified for their contribution to the historic landscape.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters (Suhara Family Residence Main House) |
|---|---|
| Location | 316 Tonomine, Sakurai, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | Registered on 2020/4/3 (Reiwa 2) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tile roof, floor area 307 square metres |
| Owner | Private individual (not published in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database) |
| Public Access | Not open. Neither interior nor grounds are open to visitors |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database: Former Jimon-in Guest Hall and Priests' Quarters
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013308
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Report of the Council for Cultural Affairs on new registrations, 15 November 2019
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/91972801_02.pdf
- Sakurai City: Nationally designated cultural properties in Sakurai
- https://www.city.sakurai.lg.jp/sosiki/kyouikuiinkaijimukyoku/bunkazai/sakuraisibunkazai/1392871070608.html
Last verified: 2026.09.14
