National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties · Nara

Horyuji Temple Kofuzo Treasury

Horyuji Temple Kofuzo Treasury: Original Form of the Twin Storehouse

The Horyuji Temple Kofuzo Treasury, a Heian National Treasure, keeps two storerooms under one roof with an open bay between, the original twin-storehouse form.

Designation National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties

Location Nara

Two storerooms under one roof

The Horyuji Temple Kofuzo Treasury (法隆寺綱封蔵, Hōryū-ji Kōfūzō) in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, is a raised Heian-period storehouse, designated an Important Cultural Property on December 22, 1942, and a National Treasure on June 15, 1967. It runs north to south, southwest of the Refectory and east of the Tsumamuro dormitory.

Nine bays by three on a raised floor, it has a hipped tile roof. The plan is split into three square units: the north and south ones are storerooms and the middle is left open. A pair of storerooms sharing one roof like this is called a narabikura, a twin storehouse.

For its date, the Agency for Cultural Affairs database gives the early Heian period, while the commentary in the same database, judging from timber and technique, suggests the mid-Heian.

Where the name comes from, and why it matters

A kōfūzō is a storehouse sealed by the sōgō, the senior monks who governed the temple. The temple inventory of 747 lists two twin storehouses and seven other storehouses, most thought to have stood near here.

The Horyuji Kofuzo did not start out with that role. Temple records say that early in the twelfth century the existing sealed storehouse collapsed and its treasures were moved into this twin store, which seems to have taken the name from then on.

Only two twin storehouses survive in Japan: the Shōsōin repository at Tōdaiji and this one. The Shōsōin walls in its middle section to make three rooms; here the center stays open and both storerooms open their doors onto it. That is considered the original form of the type, and this is the only building that preserves it.

Stout columns and a raised floor

Thick round columns on natural stones, set on a low earthen platform, hold the floor well off the ground. Air moving underneath kept damp away from the treasures.

Above the floor, horizontal boards are dropped into grooves between the posts and the upper walls are plastered. Plates and through-brackets cap the posts, the main beams extend outward to carry the eave purlins on simple boat-shaped bracket arms, and double square rafters form the eaves. Inside, a second tier of beams on the main beams carries the ridge on short posts, all left exposed.

The original timber is largely cedar, with pine for the capitals and cypress for the floorboards and rafters. Stand in the open middle bay and look at the doors on either side: this is where goods went in and out.

Visiting

The interior of the Horyuji Kofuzo Treasury is not open. It stands along the route from the Western Precinct toward the Daihozoin, and the exterior can be seen from the path. Viewed from the east or west side rather than head-on, the open middle bay and the twin layout make most sense.

Name	Horyuji Temple Kofuzo Treasury (Hōryū-ji Kōfūzō)
Location	Horyuji Sannai, Ikaruga, Ikoma District, Nara Prefecture
Designation	National Treasure
Year Designated	Important Cultural Property 1942/12/22 (Showa 17); National Treasure 1967/6/15 (Showa 42)
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	9 by 3 bays, single storey, raised floor, hipped roof, tile roof
Owner	Horyuji Temple
Public Access	Exterior only (interior closed)

Horyuji Temple Kofuzo Treasury

Two storerooms under one roof

Where the name comes from, and why it matters

Stout columns and a raised floor

Visiting

Q&A

Basic Information

References

Share this article

Cultural Properties of Horyuji Temple

Nearby heritages

Around This Site

Transport Hubs 1

Tourist Information 5

Roadside Stations 5