What the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office is
The Hokoji Temple Administrative Office (方広寺宗務本院), at Hokoji in the Okuyama district of Inasa-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, dates from the middle Meiji years, between 1883 and 1897, and entered the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019. It faces south from a terrace above the Great Priests' Quarters.
The building is single-storey timber with a pantiled roof and a floor area of 78 square metres. It is gabled, with a lean-to running round the west, south and north faces, and a covered walkway connects it to the kitchen wing below. The Agency for Cultural Affairs record identifies it as the office of the administrative head of the branch.
Running a branch, not a temple
Hokoji is the head monastery of the Hokoji branch of Rinzai Zen and has many subordinate temples under it. The Hokoji Temple Administrative Office was built for the running of that branch rather than of a single temple.
Why the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office was registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the number is 22-265.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record states that together with the Shikaryo and the kitchen wing it conveys how the administrative quarter of a head monastery was arranged. Three buildings divide the work of receiving visitors, of kitchen and office, and of branch government, and covered walkways bind them into one operating group. That the arrangement survives is what is valued.
Inside, six rooms are set in two rows front and back, with the north-west corner given over to a reception room and verandas along the west and north. Among a series of small working rooms, one corner room alone is finished as a reception room and given a veranda: a working building that still keeps a place fit to receive a guest.
Its position counts too. Sitting one level above the roof of the kitchen wing keeps a building of 78 square metres from disappearing.
What to look for at the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office
Watch the lean-to. It hangs a second, lower roof beneath the main eaves and wraps the west, south and north faces. That it covers three sides rather than four appears to be because the east side meets the slope. The contrast between the covered faces and the bare one shows how the building is seated.
The walkway down to the kitchen wing repays attention as well. Because it links a terrace to a building one level lower, it has to fall, whether by slope or by step. The whole height difference between the two buildings is resolved in that one passage.
The roof is a plain gable, and the exterior of the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office is spare. Without a decorative gable or porch of any kind, its standing is made entirely by where the lean-to and the verandas run.
Visiting the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office
Branch business is conducted in the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office and no notice of interior access is published. Viewing is from the outside.
The exterior can be seen by looking up from the north side of the kitchen wing. Because the building stands on a terrace, the eaves of the lean-to come close to eye level from below, which makes the way it wraps three sides easy to follow.
This is a place of work, so view it quietly. Photography is unrestricted, but avoid pointing a camera through the windows. Directions and admission are covered on the Hokoji Temple page.
Q&A
- What kind of building is the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office?
- It houses the office of the administrative head of the Hokoji branch of Rinzai Zen. It faces south from a terrace above the kitchen wing, to which it is joined by a covered walkway.
- When was the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office built?
- In the middle Meiji years, between 1883 and 1897.
- What is the interior of the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office like?
- Six rooms in two rows front and back, with the north-west corner finished as a reception room and verandas along the west and north. A lean-to wraps the west, south and north faces.
- Can visitors see the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office?
- It is a working office and no interior access is published. The exterior can be viewed from the north side of the kitchen wing.
- What cultural property status does the Hokoji Temple Administrative Office hold?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019, registration number 22-265, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokoji Temple Administrative Office |
|---|---|
| Location | 1577-1 Okuyama, Inasa-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 22-265 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 10 September 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber building, tiled roof, floor area 78 square metres |
| Owner | Hokoji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | No published notice of interior access; exterior visible from north of the kitchen wing |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hokoji Temple Administrative Office
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012915
- Daihonzan Hokoji: About the temple
- https://www.houkouji.or.jp/about/
Last verified: 2026.09.17
