What Is Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall?
Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall (本善寺茶所, Honzen-ji Chajo) is a hospitality hall for visiting followers at Honzenji in Iigai, Yoshino Town, Nara Prefecture; the national database dates it to 1798, and it became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on January 15, 2010.
It stands northeast of the main hall and just west of the main gate. Its most distinctive feature is a drum tower perched on the ridge of the roof. The building area is 55 square meters.
An Earthen Floor and a Cooking Range
Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall measures 7.9 by 7.0 meters, with a hip-and-gable roof (Irimoya-zukuri) in traditional pantiles. A second, smaller hip-and-gable roof sits on the ridge, housing the drum tower.
Inside, the front half is an open earthen-floored area with a broad veranda, and a cooking range is built in. The name chajo means roughly "tea place": it is where followers who had traveled to the temple for services were served tea and could rest. In Jōdo Shinshū temples, whose strength lay in large lay congregations, a hall like this is a standard part of the complex.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs registered Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall as a model of architectural form, under number 29-0154, observing that the drum tower on the roof creates a temple skyline typical of Jōdo Shinshū.
A Lookout on the Top Floor
The temple's guide calls Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall the "chajo and drum tower" and describes it as two-tiered outside and three floors inside. The ground floor is the chajo, the second a landing, and the third a single one-bay room apparently meant as a lookout, with windows on the east, north and west over Iigai and the town of Kamiichi across the river.
The temple gives its date as 1790 and its size as 7.91 by 6.96 meters. That differs from the database date of 1798, which this page follows.
Seeing Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall
Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall is immediately to your right (west) as you pass through the main gate. For the full profile of the double roof and drum tower, look up from the foot of the stone steps outside the gate, where it lines up with the roof of the bell tower. Because the front half is open, the earthen floor and veranda can be seen from outside.
Nothing is published about climbing into the drum tower. If the view from the lookout interests you, ask the temple. Directions to the grounds are on the Honzenji Temple page.
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Q&A
- What is Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall used for?
- It was built to welcome followers coming to the temple, serving them tea and giving them a place to rest. A cooking range is built inside.
- What is on the roof of Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall?
- A drum tower with its own hip-and-gable roof, a feature typical of Jōdo Shinshū temples.
- When was Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall built?
- The national database gives 1798; the temple's own guide gives 1790.
- How many floors does Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall have?
- The national database lists it as single story. The temple describes three floors inside, with a lookout room on the third.
- Where is Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall?
- Northeast of the main hall and just west of the main gate, on your right as you enter.
Basic Information
| Name | Honzenji Temple Chajo Hall (本善寺茶所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 567 Iigai, Yoshino Town, Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building), registration no. 29-0154 |
| Year Designated | Registered January 15, 2010 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Wooden, single story, tiled roof; building area 55 square meters; with drum tower (7.9 meters by 7.0 meters) |
| Owner | Honzenji Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the grounds; no published access to the drum tower |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties: 本善寺茶所 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008020
- Cultural Heritage Online: 本善寺茶所 (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/165131
Last verified: 2026.09.27
