Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Okayama

Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall

Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall: A 1735 Zen Hall with Round Windows

The 1735 Buddha Hall at the heart of Hofukuji in Soja, Okayama: a Zen hall with fan rafters and round windows in place of the usual ogee type. Registered 2009.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Okayama

Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall: A 1735 Zen Hall with Round Windows

The Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall (寶福寺仏殿, Hōfukuji Butsuden) is the central hall of Hōfukuji, a Rinzai Zen temple in Ijirino, Soja City, Okayama Prefecture, rebuilt in 1735 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on April 28, 2009.

The hall faces east and measures 5 bays by 5, with a building area of 175 square meters. Its roof is a tiled hip-and-gable in the Irimoya-zukuri form, laid with Hongawarabuki tiles. Although it is a single-story building, it is designed to look as if it had a mokoshi, the pent roof skirting the lower walls of many Zen halls. It was repaired in 1821 and again in 1883. Among Hofukuji's 24 registered structures, it is the oldest with a known year of construction.

The Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall was raised as the centerpiece of the Edo-period rebuilding, and it stands on an east-west axis between the Main Gate in front and the pagoda on the rise behind.

Why the Buddha Hall Was Registered

The Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall was registered as a model of design, under number 33-0210. The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a fine example of a mid-Edo Zen Buddha hall.

The details bear that out. In the gable, a big-jar strut stands on a curved Kōryō beam, a standard Zen composition. The eaves have 2 tiers of rafters that fan out toward the corners in the ogidaruki manner, and the bracket sets, of the one-step demitsudo type, are placed between the columns as well as on top of them. All of these are features of Zenshūyō, the Zen style introduced from the continent in the Kamakura period, and the hall follows it faithfully.

The openings are where it departs from the norm. The central bays of the front and sides hold paneled sankarado doors, but the flanking bays have perfectly round windows rather than the ogee-arched Katōmado common in Zen buildings. Each is cut into white plaster and topped by a bow-shaped transom, a local variation within an orthodox design.

What to Look For

Because the Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall faces east, morning is the best time to stand before it: the light falls on the white plaster and the pair of round windows on either side of the central doors, each under its curved transom. The same arrangement is repeated on the sides, so step to a corner to see 2 faces at once.

Then look up into the eaves. Near each corner the rafters spread like the ribs of a folding fan, the clearest contrast with temple roofs whose rafters run parallel. With bracket sets filling the spaces between columns, the eaves read as a continuous band of joinery.

The painter Sesshu trained at Hofukuji as a boy and, the story goes, drew a mouse with his tears while tied to a pillar (Soja City). The Muromachi-period buildings of that story were lost in the civil wars, however; the present Buddha Hall is an Edo-period rebuilding.

Visiting

The exterior of the Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall can be viewed. No interior opening is announced, so follow instructions on site during services and events.

Climb the steps from the east and pass through the Main Gate, and the Buddha Hall is directly ahead. The sutra repository stands on the rise to its northwest and the Senjakusei well to its southwest, so a short loop around the hall shows how the compound is arranged.

No photography notices are posted, but put the camera away during services. The pairing of paneled doors in the center bay with round windows on either side reads best straight on, just inside the Main Gate.

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Q&A

QWhen was the Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall built?: AIn 1735. It was repaired in 1821 and 1883.

QWhen was the Hofukuji Buddha Hall registered as a cultural property?: AOn April 28, 2009, as registration number 33-0210, under the criterion of a model of design.

QWhat is unusual about the windows of the Hofukuji Buddha Hall?: AThe flanking bays of the front and sides have perfectly round windows with bow-shaped transoms, instead of the ogee-arched katomado usual in Zen halls.

QHow large is the Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall?: AIt is 5 bays by 5, with a building area of 175 square meters, under a tiled hip-and-gable roof with fan rafters and closely set bracket sets.

QCan I visit the Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall?: AThe exterior can be seen; no interior opening is announced. The hall faces east, straight ahead as you pass through the Main Gate.

Basic Information

Name	Hofukuji Temple Buddha Hall
Location	1968-1 Ijirino, Soja City, Okayama Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	2009 (Heisei 21), registered
Quantity	1 building
Dimensions	Single-story timber building, tiled roof, building area 175 square meters
Owner	Hofukuji (religious corporation)
Public Access	Exterior only