Saikyoji Temple Mausoleum

The Founder's Mausoleum on the Height West of the Main Hall

The Saikyoji Temple Mausoleum (西教寺御廟, Saikyōji Gobyō) is a mausoleum built in 1842 on high ground west of the Main Hall at Saikyoji in Sakamoto, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 28, 2001.

According to the temple's heritage guide, it stands at the top of a long, steep flight of stone steps and is the tomb of Shinsei Shōnin, who revived the temple; a five-tiered stone stupa is enshrined inside. The national record gives a single-story timber building of 15 square meters, the oldest of Saikyoji's eighteen registered buildings.

It is registration number 25-0147.

Why the Mausoleum Was Registered

The Saikyoji Temple Mausoleum was registered under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its rich carving shows the design of the late Edo period.

It stands on a base paved with diagonally laid stones. The plan is one bay by two yet square overall, with a front porch. The roof is a pyramidal hōgyō roof over double-tier rafters, and two-step bracketing carries tail rafters with carved ends. A hall of just 15 square meters receives full-scale bracketing and carving.

What to Look For

Study the front porch. The heritage guide describes a long porch beam supported by an ornamented strut, a door of openwork floral lattice and cusped windows on either side.

Monkeys with gentle faces and scrolling vines are carved on the frog-leg struts, brackets and posts. Monkeys also appear on the Main Hall, and they have long been a cherished motif at Saikyoji, tied to the story of a monkey that protected Shinsei Shōnin.

Visiting the Mausoleum

The Saikyoji Temple Mausoleum stands up the long stone steps west of the Main Hall, and its exterior can be viewed; as a tomb, the interior is not open. The steps are steep, so take care. Opening hours, admission and directions for the temple are on the Saikyoji Temple page.