A small room held behind the guest hall
Behind the Kyakuden, an Important Cultural Property, to its southwest stands a small sitting room: the Shinzashiki of Saikyō-ji. Where the Momoyama guest hall presents a wide, formal space, this room tucked at its rear makes an intimate, small-scaled place. Built in the early Shōwa period, it is single-storied, timber-framed, and pantile-roofed, with a floor area of 46 square meters.
The roof runs east to west, gabled on the east face and hip-and-gabled on the west. Changing the roof form within one building looks like a device to meet the neighboring structures. Inside are two rooms: an eight-mat room with an alcove and shelving, and a six-mat room with shelves.
White plaster tightened with red ocher
Inside and out the walls are finished in white plaster, while the posts and rails are painted with red-ocher bengara to draw the room together. The contrast of white and reddish brown lends a quiet richness to a plain sitting room. Its eight-plus-six-mat layout matches that of the nearby Kanran-tei, so the two stand in a sisterly relation.
Yet where Kanran-tei is worked in vermilion sand walls and a wave transom for an airy effect, the Shinzashiki is ordered trimly in white plaster and red ocher. Comparing them shows how the same two-room layout takes on a different mood through the choice of finish. As a plain, trim sitting room in the sukiya taste, it was listed on August 28, 2001.
Best savored beside Kanran-tei
The Shinzashiki is not a lead along the visitor route but a presence held in the shadow of the guest hall. Even so, its concrete finish of white plaster and red ocher gives it an expression all its own. Set beside the nearby Kanran-tei, it shows how the sukiya buildings of Saikyō-ji drew variety from a shared idea.
Turning an eye not only to the formal guest hall but to the small rooms arranged around it brings out the depth of life at the temple. A quiet building, it stays in the memory of anyone who traces the architecture of the grounds with care.
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Questions & Answers
- Where is the Shinzashiki?
- Behind the guest hall, an Important Cultural Property, to its southwest. It is a small sitting room of two spaces, an eight-mat and a six-mat room.
- What is its finish?
- A sukiya-style room finished in white plaster inside and out, with posts and rails painted in red-ocher bengara. The design is plain and trim.
- How does it differ from Kanran-tei?
- The two-room layout, eight plus six mats, is the same, but the finishes contrast: white plaster and red ocher here, vermilion sand walls and a wave transom there.
- When was it built?
- In the early Shōwa period; it was registered as a cultural property in 2001.
Basic Information
| Name | Saikyō-ji Shinzashiki (new sitting room) |
|---|---|
| Location | 3210 Sakamoto-honchō, Ōtsu, Shiga |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Registered | August 28, 2001 |
| Date | early Shōwa period |
| Unit | 1 structure |
| Structure | single-story timber, pantile roof, gabled east / hip-and-gabled west, building area 46 m² |
| Owner | Saikyō-ji |
| Access | behind the guest hall; viewing follows the guest-hall route (admission charged) |
References
- 西教寺新座敷 — 国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00002275
- 西教寺 — Wikipedia
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/西教寺
- 西教寺 — びわ湖大津 観光公式（大津市観光協会）
- https://otsu.or.jp/tendai3souhonzan/saikyoji/saikyoji.html
- 西教寺 — 滋賀県観光公式サイト
- https://www.biwako-visitors.jp/spot/detail/88/
Last verified: 2026.07.08