Kotokuji Temple Omido Hall

A Thatched Medieval Hall in Kawajima

The Kotokuji Temple Omido Hall (広徳寺大御堂, Kōtoku-ji Ōmidō) is a Buddhist hall of the late Muromachi period at Kotokuji in Omote, Kawajima Town, Hiki District, Saitama Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on July 4, 1938 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The name is read Omido, not Daimido.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a hall 3 bays by 3, single-storey, with a hipped thatched roof, built in the late Muromachi period (1467 to 1572); designation number 00989, owned by Kotokuji.

The Legend of Hojo Masako

According to Saitama Prefecture's landscape database, omido was a name for halls of Amida built in the late Heian and Kamakura periods, when Pure Land belief flourished. Tradition holds that Kotokuji's hall was founded in the early 13th century by Hojo Masako, wife of the first Kamakura shogun, on the site of the residence of the 美尾谷 family, to pray for the repose of the warrior 美尾谷十郎廣徳.

The present building is a later reconstruction. Saitama Prefecture says it is thought to date from the early to middle Muromachi period, while the Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to the late Muromachi period.

Why It Was Designated

The Kotokuji Temple Omido Hall was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1938. Saitama Prefecture describes it as one of the few Zen-style halls that show the dignified look typical of the Kanto region, 3 bays square with a hipped thatched roof.

What to Look For

The thick thatched hipped roof over a small 3-bay hall is the main sight (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Saitama Prefecture). Medieval thatched halls are rare on the Kanto plain.

No official information on the interior or the images inside has been published, so they are not covered here.

Visiting

The hall is in Omote, Kawajima Town. Saitama Prefecture gives access as about 20 minutes by bus from Kawagoe Station or Okegawa Station.

Neither the temple nor the town publishes visiting hours or interior access. Follow the rules of the temple grounds and visit quietly.