What the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters is
The Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters (方広寺大庫裡), at Hokoji in the Okuyama district of Inasa-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, was built in the early Taisho years between 1912 and 1918 and entered the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019. It faces west from a site east of the Main Hall.
The building is single-storey timber with a pantiled roof and a floor area of 513 square metres. Long and gabled, with its ridge running north to south, it is the third largest of the twenty-two registered buildings at Hokoji after the Main Hall and the Sanshokaku. Repairs were carried out around 1990.
What a kuri does
A kuri houses the kitchen, the administration and the daily life of a monastery. Here the northern part holds public rooms including an exhibition space and the southern part holds offices, so the side open to visitors and the side that runs the temple are divided north from south within one building.
Why the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters was registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the registration number is 22-262.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record describes an imposing exterior with the standing a head monastery requires. What it examines is the way the front is composed. An entrance porch with an undulating gable stands at the centre, and hipped-and-gabled projections flank it on either side.
A long gabled building of this kind would otherwise present a flat and monotonous wall. Adding the curved porch at the centre and two projections beside it gives the elevation three peaks. That operation is what lends a working building the bearing of a hall within the precinct.
Scale matters to the assessment as well. The Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters joins the Sanshokaku at its eastern end, and the two together exceed 1,000 square metres of floor.
What to look for at the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters
Begin with the porch. Its gable is bowed into a curve that swells at the centre and drops at both ends, and along a very long straight eave it is the only element that bends.
Look to either side of it and the hipped-and-gabled projections step forward from the wall. The great gabled roof, the projections and the curved porch put three different roof forms into a single building.
Seen from east of the Main Hall, the length of the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters becomes apparent. With the ridge running north to south, the forecourt view takes in the long side of the roof as one horizontal line.
Visiting the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters
The exhibition space in the northern part is included in the visitor route. Photography of the items on display may be restricted, so follow the notices posted inside. The offices in the southern part are working rooms and are not open.
The exterior is visible from the forecourt of the Main Hall. To take the porch head on, stand toward the west side of the forecourt and look east.
The Administrative Office stands on the terrace to the north, and the Sanshokaku joins the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters on the east. Directions and admission are covered on the Hokoji Temple page.
Q&A
- What kind of building is the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters?
- A kuri, housing the kitchen, administration and daily life of the monastery. Public rooms including an exhibition space occupy the north, offices the south, across a floor area of 513 square metres.
- When was the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters built?
- Between 1912 and 1918, with repairs carried out around 1990.
- What should visitors look at in the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters?
- The curved entrance porch at the centre of the front and the hipped-and-gabled projections beside it. With the long gabled roof above, three roof forms meet in one building.
- Can visitors go inside the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters?
- The exhibition space in the northern part is on the visitor route, though photography of the display may be restricted. The offices to the south are not open.
- What cultural property status does the Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters hold?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019, registration number 22-262, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters |
|---|---|
| Location | 1577-1 Okuyama, Inasa-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 22-262 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 10 September 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, floor area 513 square metres |
| Owner | Hokoji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exhibition space in the north is on the visitor route; offices in the south are closed |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hokoji Temple Great Priests' Quarters
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012912
- Daihonzan Hokoji: Grounds guide
- https://www.houkouji.or.jp/guide/
Last verified: 2026.09.17
