Rengebuji Temple Octagonal Hall

An Octagon Carved as a Dragon in Cloud

The Rengebuji Temple Octagonal Hall (蓮華峰寺八角堂) is an octagonal hall of the mid-Edo period in the precinct of Rengebuji Temple in Kobie, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on August 21, 2002 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey timber hall with a copper roof and a building area of 10 square metres; registration number 15-0125.

Eight Triangular Chambers

The Rengebuji Temple Octagonal Hall stands north of the sutra repository, an eight-sided hall roofed in copper, thought to date from the mid-Edo period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Inside, the space is divided bay by bay into triangular chambers, each holding a miniature shrine (kuden) (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Rengebuji Temple Octagonal Hall was registered as a structure that would not be easy to reproduce. The Agency counts it, with the Hassodo Hall, among the most unusual designs in the precinct.

What to Look For

The eaves are the thing to see. The bracketing projects in three steps, rich in patterned and carved arms and sculpture, and as a whole it depicts a dragon among clouds (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Walk around the Rengebuji Temple Octagonal Hall looking up, and the brackets and carving run on round all eight faces as the dragon winds its way.

Visiting

The Rengebuji Temple Octagonal Hall stands north of the sutra repository in the Rengebuji precinct, and its exterior can be seen within the grounds. No official information on interior access was found. Directions to the temple are given on the Rengebuji Temple page.