What Is Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall?
Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall (本善寺御成御殿, Honzen-ji Onari Goten) is a formal suite of reception rooms joined to the south of the guest hall at Honzenji in Iigai, Yoshino Town, Nara Prefecture; built in 1772, it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 15, 2010.
Onari is an honorific word for a visit by a person of high rank, and goten means a mansion or hall; the building was meant for receiving such guests. At 78 square meters it is about a third the size of the guest hall, but it sits at the innermost end of the temple's reception suite.
Two Rooms of 8 and 4 Mats
Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall measures 9.0 by 8.0 meters. The roof is gabled (Kirizuma-zukuri) at the north and hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) at the south, covered in interlocking pantiles (Sangawara-buki).
There are just two rooms: a main room of 8 tatami mats and an anteroom of 4. The main room has the full set of shoin-style fittings, a decorative alcove (Tokonoma), staggered shelves (Chigaidana) and a built-in writing desk by the window (Tsukeshoin). Broad verandas run along the west and south, with a lower outer veranda beyond them.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall for its contribution to the historic landscape, under number 29-0157, noting that it is carefully built from fine timber and forms a refined reception space together with the guest hall.
Paired with the Guest Hall
If the guest hall to the north was the place of audience, Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall was the inner room where an honored guest could then be shown to rest. The roofs tell the same story: the guest hall is hip-and-gable at the north and gabled at the south, while this hall reverses the pattern, keeping the joined north side plain and giving the open south side a hip-and-gable end.
Seeing Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall
Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall is the southernmost of the buildings west of the main hall. From the grounds you mostly see its roof and the outer verandas; the hip-and-gable end on the south is best seen from the southern part of the precinct.
The rooms are not regularly open, and seeing the alcove and shelves should be assumed to need the temple's permission. Contact the temple if you would like to visit. Directions to the grounds are on the Honzenji Temple page.
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Q&A
- What is Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall?
- A formal reception suite for high-ranking visitors, joined to the south end of the guest hall.
- When was Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall built?
- In 1772.
- What is inside Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall?
- An 8-mat main room with an alcove, staggered shelves and a built-in desk, and a 4-mat anteroom, with verandas on the west and south.
- What shape is the roof of Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall?
- Gabled at the north and hip-and-gable at the south, in interlocking pantiles.
- Can visitors see inside Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall?
- It is not regularly open. Please contact the temple.
Basic Information
| Name | Honzenji Temple Onari Goten Hall (本善寺御成御殿) |
|---|---|
| Location | 567 Iigai, Yoshino Town, Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 29-0157 |
| Year Designated | Registered January 15, 2010 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single story, tiled roof; building area 78 square meters (9.0 meters by 8.0 meters) |
| Owner | Honzenji Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the grounds; interior not regularly open |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: 本善寺御成御殿 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008023
- Cultural Heritage Online: 本善寺御成御殿 (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/140744
Last verified: 2026.09.27
