Komyoji Temple Priests' Quarters

What Are Komyoji Temple Priests' Quarters?

Komyoji Temple Priests' Quarters (光明寺庫裏, Kōmyō-ji Kuri) is the residence and kitchen building (Kuri) of Komyoji, a Jodo Shu (Pure Land) Buddhist temple in Shitaderamachi, Tennoji Ward, Osaka City; built in the late Edo period, between 1830 and 1867, it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) of Japan in 2008. It is a single-story timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 207 square meters.

A kuri combines the temple kitchen with the living quarters of the priest's household, and it is where the daily business of the temple is done. At Komyoji the Priests' Quarters stand on the north side of the Main Hall and connect to it through a hip-and-gable entrance porch.

Why the Priests' Quarters Were Registered

Komyoji Temple Priests' Quarters were registered for their contribution to Japan's historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the Main Hall and the residence, standing side by side, give the precinct a solid, weighty character. In other words, the value was found less in the residence on its own than in the pairing with the hall, which shapes this part of the temple row.

The Main Hall dates from 1706, so the residence came well over a century later, at the end of the Edo period. The Agency gives no single year, only the span from 1830 to 1867. A mid-Edo hall with a late-Edo house set beside it shows a temple that assembled its present layout over a long stretch of time.

What to Look for at the Priests' Quarters

The main block of Komyoji Temple Priests' Quarters has a simple gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) running east to west, laid with round-and-flat tiles (Hongawarabuki). Perched on the ridge is a small raised smoke vent, built to let out the smoke from the kitchen stoves. Look for that little bump on the roof line; it tells you this was a working kitchen.

Lean-to roofs (Geya) are attached to the gable ends, and a short eave projects near the west end of the south side to shelter the doorway. The walls are finished in white lime plaster (Shikkui), a sharp contrast with the dark tiles.

The entrance porch between the residence and the Main Hall is a hip-and-gable structure entered from the gable end (Tsumairi) and roofed with pantiles (Sangawara-buki). Its gable is decorated with a latticed board panel (Kitsure-goshi). Note that the porch uses pantiles while the residence uses round-and-flat tiles. The latticed gable that greets guests and the plain gable of the living quarters behind it show how one building separated its formal front from its private back.

Visiting Komyoji Temple Priests' Quarters

Komyoji Temple Priests' Quarters serve by design as the temple's living space, and no interior viewing is announced. The temple does not publish rules for entering the grounds either, so contact it in advance if you would like to see the exterior up close. Please do not point cameras at the doors or windows of the living quarters.

If you are given permission to enter, stand in front of the Main Hall and look to the left (north): from there the latticed porch gable and the long roof of the residence fit into one view. Directions and visiting conditions for the temple as a whole are on the Komyoji Temple page.