Fudoji Temple Main Hall

A Mountain Hall Raised over the Slope

The Fudoji Temple Main Hall (不動寺本堂) is a Buddhist hall built out on a cliff-side frame of the early Muromachi period (1333 to 1392) in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on April 15, 1924 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a main hall (3 by 3 bays, with a rear projection and a north aisle) and a worship hall in front (6 bays by 1, with a cusped-gable porch at the north-east end), both raised on frames over the slope, hip-roofed and covered in cypress bark, with a shrine cabinet and altar and 3 ridge tags designated alongside them; designation number 00799.

The 1924 date in the Agency record is that of its designation under the former law, and the record also gives an additional designation date of September 20, 2022.

A Hall Built out over the Mountainside

According to the Agency's commentary, Fudoji is a Tendai mountain sanctuary near the summit of a peak south of Lake Biwa, and its main hall, made up of an inner hall and a worship hall, is built out over the slope on a tall timber frame.

The inner hall dates back to the early Muromachi period, and an altar platform with a shrine cabinet stands in its rear projection. The worship hall was added in front of it in 1771 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Is an Important Cultural Property

The Agency values the inner hall of the early Muromachi period together with the worship hall of 1771, which shows how the temple took in crowds of pilgrims in the early modern era.

What to Look For

Look for the frame that carries the floor out over the slope and the cusped-gable porch at the north-east corner (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Visiting

It is owned by Fudoji Temple (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The temple stands near a mountain summit, and no official information on visiting conditions or the trails was found.