Chotokuji Temple Priests' Quarters

What Are Chotokuji Temple Priests' Quarters?

Chotokuji Temple Priests' Quarters (長徳寺庫裏, Chōtoku-ji Kuri) is the residential and kitchen wing west of the main hall at Chotokuji in Daieicho, Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture; it dates from the mid-Meiji period (1883 to 1897) and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 27, 2017.

A corridor links it to the main hall. The building is a single-storey timber structure with a tiled roof and a building area of 427 square meters, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a large-scale kuri. In one wing it combines the temple kitchen, the living rooms of the resident priest's family, and formal rooms for entertaining guests.

Guest Rooms and Two Goten Suites

The plan of the Chotokuji Temple Priests' Quarters falls into two parts. At the front is the living zone, with a 24-mat guest room and a 12-mat chanoma, the family sitting room, among others. The rooms that keep the temple running day to day are gathered here.

Behind the living zone lies a three-room suite called the Shin-goten, or New Goten. Across a corridor, set at a right angle to it, is the two-room Ko-goten, the Old Goten. Taken at face value, the names suggest the old suite came first and the new one was added later, though the Agency's description does not discuss a difference in date.

Goten literally means a palace, and the name suggests these rooms were treated as the place to receive formal guests. The imperial lodging is attached on the south side, so the priests' quarters also form the link between the main hall and that later addition.

Wide Bays and an Open Kitchen Frame

To open up the living rooms, the builders of the Chotokuji Temple Priests' Quarters used Sashigamoi, deep head beams mortised into the posts so that they act as structural members. With them, intermediate posts can be left out and large rooms such as the 24-mat guest room can run on without interruption.

In the daidokoro, the kitchen area, the beam framing overhead shows features typical of its period, according to the Agency.

The building was registered as number 15-461 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency's summary notes its connection to the west side of the main hall and its wide bays.

Seeing Chotokuji Temple Priests' Quarters

The Chotokuji Temple Priests' Quarters are part of the temple's living space, and no public access to the interior is announced. Anyone hoping to see the guest rooms, the goten suites, or the kitchen framing would need to contact Chotokuji first.

The exterior can be seen from the grounds. Walk round to the west of the main hall to see where the corridor joins the two buildings and to take in the outside of the priests' quarters. Directions to the temple are on the Chotokuji Temple page.