Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall

A Pyramid-Roofed Hall South of the Priests' Quarters

Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall (安養院地蔵堂, An'yōin Jizō-dō) is a small hall at Anyoin, a sub-temple of Saikyoji in Sakamoto-honmachi, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture; it is thought to date from the end of the Edo period, between 1830 and 1867, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2001.

It stands south of the priests' quarters and faces south. The single-storey hall has a Hōgyō-zukuri pyramidal roof in Sangawara-buki pantiles and a building area of 32 square metres. Jizō is the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, widely venerated in Japan as a protector who relieves suffering.

Most of Anyoin was built in the early Shōwa period, but Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall, like the Shoten Hall, was already standing before that rebuilding.

Dated by Weathering: Why Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall Was Registered

No record of the construction date of Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall survives. The Agency for Cultural Affairs dates it to around the end of the Edo period from how badly the timbers have weathered: the wear of wind and rain on the wood surface became the measure of age.

It was registered as a model of form. Inside is a single room, with eave-support posts standing on all four sides; the back is given over to an altar and the left side to storage. The hall is plain overall, but its front carries an ornate carved ranma transom in keeping with its period. Concentrating late-Edo decoration on the face of a modest hall is what earned the registration.

What to Look for at Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall

The carved transom on the front is the highlight. In the later Edo period temple and shrine buildings were increasingly dressed in carving, and this small, plain hall takes up that trend in a single panel. Set against bare walls and posts, the carving stands out all the more.

Under the eaves are the support posts, known as noki-shichū. They prop up the ends of deep eaves from below, and standing on all four sides they hold up the pyramidal roof as it reaches outward.

In a hōgyō roof the four slopes meet at a single point at the top, so a nearly square plan carries a pyramid-shaped roof.

Visiting Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall

Because Anyoin Temple Jizo Hall faces south, the carved transom is on its south front. No interior openings have been announced, and no visiting hours or fees are published.

If the temple allows you into the grounds, go round to the south to see the transom. The carving reads best when the sun strikes it at a low angle and picks out the relief. Photography rules have not been published, so ask the temple first.