What the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku is
The Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku (方広寺三笑閣), at Hokoji in the Okuyama district of Inasa-cho, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, is a guest reception building of the late Taisho years, put up between 1919 and 1926, and entered the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019. It joins the great kitchen wing on its eastern side.
The structure is two storeys of timber with a basement beneath part of it, roofed in pantiles, and covers 524 square metres. Among the twenty-two registered buildings at Hokoji only the Main Hall is larger.
Two ranges set side by side
Two hipped-and-gabled ranges of two storeys stand next to each other, the eastern one running north to south and the western one east to west. Turning the ridges at right angles wins a large floor area on a narrow shelf of hillside. A dining room occupies the space between them.
Why the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku was registered
The criterion is contribution to the historic landscape of the country, and the registration number is 22-264.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs record describes it as forming, together with the great kitchen wing, a reception complex on a scale fitting a head monastery. What is being assessed is not one building but the way kitchen and reception were built as a single working arrangement.
The internal plan shows it. Both upper ranges are given over to large matted reception rooms; on the ground floor there are smaller rooms to the east and the kitchen and water area to the west. Rooms for many guests went upstairs, and everything needed to serve them was gathered below and to the west. What a Rinzai head monastery required in order to receive its parishioners and visitors is written straight into the plan.
What to look for at the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku
The roofs come first. Because two hipped-and-gabled ranges sit at right angles, gable ends and long eaves swap places as you move round the building. Looked at from the south, the roof of the nearer range overlaps the one behind.
The basement is the other distinguishing feature of the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku. Built into a slope, it rises a full extra level on the south side, so the building reads as a different height depending on which way you approach.
The great kitchen wing attached to the west covers 513 square metres, and the two together pass 1,000 square metres. Looking across this quarter from the east side of the Main Hall gives a sense of how much building the daily life and hospitality of Hokoji have required.
Visiting the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku
The temple's website carries no notice about interior access to the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku. Anyone hoping to see inside should ask the temple directly.
The exterior comes into view along the route from the Main Hall toward the kitchen wing. To catch the overlap of the two roofs, look up from a little distance on the south side.
Hokoji serves vegetarian temple meals by reservation and accepts weekend lodging and group retreats. Which buildings are used for these is worth asking when booking. Directions and admission are covered on the Hokoji Temple page.
Q&A
- What kind of building is the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku?
- A guest reception building attached to the east of the great kitchen wing. Built in the late Taisho years, it has two timber storeys with a partial basement and covers 524 square metres.
- What is the interior of the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku like?
- Two hipped-and-gabled ranges stand side by side, both upper floors holding large matted reception rooms. The ground floor has smaller rooms to the east and a kitchen and water area to the west, with a dining room between the ranges.
- Can visitors see inside the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku?
- The temple publishes no notice about interior access. The exterior is visible on the way from the Main Hall to the kitchen wing, and entry should be discussed with the temple.
- When was the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku built?
- Between 1919 and 1926, in the years following the completion of the Main Hall in 1915.
- What cultural property status does the Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku hold?
- It became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 September 2019, registration number 22-264.
Basic Information
| Name | Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku |
|---|---|
| Location | 1577-1 Okuyama, Inasa-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration number 22-264 |
| Year Designated | Registered on 10 September 2019 |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two-storey timber building with partial basement, tiled roof, floor area 524 square metres |
| Owner | Hokoji Temple (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | No published notice of interior access; exterior visible from the grounds |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Hokoji Temple Sanshokaku
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012914
- Daihonzan Hokoji: Grounds guide
- https://www.houkouji.or.jp/guide/
Last verified: 2026.09.17
