Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall

Hofukuji Buddha Hall: A Zen Butsuden of 1735 with Round Windows and Fan Rafters

The Buddha hall of Hofukuji faces east in the southern part of the temple grounds in Soja City, Okayama Prefecture. Rebuilt in 1735 (Kyoho 20), with repairs recorded in 1821 and 1883, it measures five bays by five and covers 175 square meters. Though a single story, it is built to read like the classic two-tiered Zen butsuden with its skirt roof, and the hip-and-gable roof above carries heavy hongawara tiles.

The front and sides follow Zen convention with a twist. The central bay holds paneled san-karado doors; the flanking bays open not with the usual cusped windows but with perfect circles, round windows set into walls finished in white plaster, with bow-shaped transoms curving above. At the gable ends, a rainbow-shaped beam carries a large bottle-shaped strut, the taiheizuka. Under the deep double eaves, the rafters fan outward from the corners, and the bracket clusters are set close along the walls in the packed arrangement called tsumegumi. Every one of these details is a signature of the Zen style that entered Japan in the medieval period.

Inside is enshrined the temple's principal image, Kokuzo Bosatsu, the bodhisattva of boundless wisdom and memory. Hofukuji, formally Iyama Hofukuji of the Rinzai Tofukuji school, is best known as the temple where the boy Sesshu (1420-1506), later Japan's greatest ink painter, was said to have been tied to a pillar for drawing instead of studying, and to have drawn a rat with his tears so lifelike that his teacher relented.

Why the Buddha Hall Was Registered

The hall was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property on April 28, 2009, under number 33-0210, as a structure whose design offers a model for others, and the official record calls it a fine example of a mid-Edo Zen Buddha hall.

Its history explains its importance. The medieval compound, once a regional headquarters of the Tofukuji school with hundreds of branch temples, burned almost totally in the Bitchu upheavals of 1575; only the three-story pagoda of 1376 survived. The 1735 butsuden was the ritual centerpiece of the Edo revival, holding faithfully to Zen formulas while allowing local carpenters their own touches, the round windows above all.

What to Look For

Stand before the east front in the morning, when light falls on the white plaster and the two circular windows read like a pair of full moons. Then step to a corner and look up: the fan rafters radiate like spokes, one of the most photogenic details in Zen carpentry.

Inside, pay your respects to Kokuzo Bosatsu, whose association with wisdom and memory draws students before examinations. A painting recalling the famous rat episode of young Sesshu has also been displayed within the hall, so look for it as you enter.

The hall anchors a compound with nine other registered Edo structures and the vermilion pagoda. Come in mid-to-late November for the maples, or on the monthly zazen morning (customarily the second Sunday except August; confirm with the temple) to see the buildings in living use. Grounds and parking are free.