Myokyoji Reioden Worship Hall

The worship hall before the Kyooden

The Myokyoji Reioden Worship Hall (妙教寺霊応殿拝殿, Myōkyō-ji Reiōden Haiden) is a worship hall of 1886 standing in front of the Kyooden in the Reioden, the former main sanctuary of Saijo Inari Myokyoji in Takamatsu Inari, Kita Ward, Okayama City; it was moved in 1979 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2009/01/08.

The Reioden is a chain of buildings, inner sanctuary, Kyooden, worship hall and front hall, and the Myokyoji Reioden Worship Hall sits in the middle as the place where worshippers pray. According to an Okayama City article it was built, like the Kyooden and the front hall, by the Nagoya master carpenter Aoyama Choshichi, in the same year as the front hall and eleven years before the Kyooden.

A three-bay hall open on all sides

The Myokyoji Reioden Worship Hall is three bays by three bays under a hip-and-gable roof of cypress bark, with no walls on any side. Its building area is 53 square metres. The central bays at front and back are wider than the rest and spanned by curved rainbow beams, making two broad openings.

Round columns stand on base blocks set on a continuous stone footing. The brackets are simple three-part sets and the eaves have a double layer of closely spaced rafters. Inside, a coffered ceiling hangs over a low board floor laid level with the top of the footing.

With so low a floor and nothing but columns at the edges, the boundary between inside and out is slight. Coming through the front hall, worshippers step into the worship hall almost without noticing and find themselves facing the Kyooden.

What to look for, and visiting

The Myokyoji Reioden Worship Hall is in the Reioden area on the upper terrace and can be seen at any time, free of charge. Because it is open-sided you can see right in to the coffered ceiling, but you cannot step up into it. Private prayer services by reservation are held in the former sanctuary.

From the front, take in the wide central bay, its rainbow beam, and the Kyooden's gable beyond as a single view. From the side you can see how the columns sit on their base blocks above the low floor. Opening hours and directions are on the Saijo Inari Myokyoji page.