Saikyoji Temple Water Pavilion

A Water Pavilion of 1944 Before the Main Hall

Saikyoji Temple Water Pavilion (西教寺水屋, Saikyō-ji Mizuya) is a timber ablution pavilion built in 1944 at Saikyō-ji, the head temple of the Tendai Shinsei school in Sakamoto-honmachi, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on August 28, 2001.

It stands directly south of the Main Hall, where worshippers rinse their hands and mouths before going up to pray. The temple's heritage guide calls it the Hondō-mae Chōzuya, the purification font in front of the Main Hall. It should not be confused with the Founder's Hall water pavilion of the Taishō period on the lower terrace; Saikyō-ji has two registered water pavilions.

The plan is a rectangle with a long, narrow stone basin in the middle, and the building area is just 4.4 square metres, the same as the other water pavilion. Built in the last years of the Pacific War, it is also the most recent of them.

Why the Water Pavilion Was Registered

The Saikyoji Temple Water Pavilion was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, small as it is, it presents a dignified, commanding exterior.

That impression comes from the roof. It is a hip-and-gable roof (Irimoya-zukuri) laid with Hongawarabuki, the heavy system of alternating flat and round tiles used on major halls. The eaves are two-tiered and closely raftered, giving them a deep overhang. In effect, the carpenters gave a 4.4-square-metre shelter the roof of a much larger building.

Below the roof, square posts stand at the four corners, braced by diagonal members on the east and west sides. Three-part bracket sets (Mitsudo-gumi) on the posts carry the beams, and the ceiling is a coffered grid (Gō-tenjō). Nothing was simplified because the building was small.

What to Look For at the Saikyoji Temple Water Pavilion

At the basin, water pours from the mouth of a dragon's head into the long trough, and at its foot small, rather endearing demon figures bear its weight. The temple's heritage guide picks this out as the pavilion's highlight, and you see it close up as you rinse your hands.

Then look up. The coffered ceiling and the bracket sets at the post tops are packed into a space no bigger than a small room. The diagonal braces on the posts are an unusual touch in the grounds.

Step back and take it in with the Main Hall behind it: the deep double eaves and heavy tiles of the Saikyoji Temple Water Pavilion echo the great roof beyond. That relationship is exactly what its registration recognises.

Seeing the Water Pavilion

The Saikyoji Temple Water Pavilion stands on the path to the Main Hall and is listed as a stop in the temple's heritage guide. You pass it naturally on the way to worship, and the exterior and basin are open to view.

It is still used for purification before prayer, so give way to worshippers who are using it.