What the Anrakuji Shoin Is
The Anrakuji Shoin (安楽寺書院, Anrakuji Shoin) is a Taishō-period reception building at Anrakuji in Mima-cho, Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, built in 1925 and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 7, 2009. It stands northeast of the main hall with its ridge running east to west, and covers a building area of 94 square meters.
The main roof is Irimoya-zukuri laid in Hongawarabuki. Around it runs a Geya skirt roof in Sangawara-buki, so the tiling changes type partway down. Heavy round-and-flat tiling above, lighter pantiles below: the shift gives the elevation a stepped rhythm you notice before you notice anything else.
Anrakuji traces its Jōdo Shinshū identity to 1259 by temple tradition, and in the Edo period it held 84 branch temples across Shikoku. Against that span, the Anrakuji Shoin is a recent arrival, added in the 1920s.
Why the Anrakuji Shoin Was Registered
The Agency for Cultural Affairs database registers the Anrakuji Shoin under number 36-0075, citing the criterion of contribution to the historic landscape of the country. Its entry calls the building a high-quality shoin parlour whose exterior is light yet settled, which points to the balance between the interior fittings and the outward form.
The plan is simple. Two rooms sit side by side along the east-west axis, one of 10 mats and one of 12 and a half mats. Verandas run along the east, south and west faces, and a Kure-en finishes the rear. Two rooms are all there is, yet nothing about the Zashiki has been downgraded.
Each room is fitted with a Tokonoma, a tokowaki shelving recess beside it and a Tsukeshoin writing alcove. That trio is the standard vocabulary of Shoin-zukuri, settled in early modern warrior residences and temple reception rooms. Finding it in both rooms of a building from the 1920s is what defines the character of the Anrakuji Shoin.
What to Look For at the Anrakuji Shoin
Carved Ranma transoms fill the boundary between the two rooms. Because they sit on the dividing line, they read from either side. When the sliding screens are opened and the two rooms are used as one, the carving spans the sight line overhead.
The verandas repay a slow circuit. Three sides are conventional boarded verandas; only the rear uses Kure-en, with the planks laid differently. Walk right around the building and the surface underfoot changes character. The face that receives guests and the face that does not have been distinguished through floorboards alone.
From outside, watch the height at which the tiling changes. Hongawarabuki alternates half-cylinder tiles with flat ones and casts deep shadow lines; Sangawara-buki runs a continuous wave and reads flat. Much of why the Anrakuji Shoin looks light on its feet comes from that two-tier arrangement.
Visiting the Anrakuji Shoin
The Anrakuji Shoin stands northeast of the main hall and its exterior can be seen from the precincts. The rooms themselves are working space, used for temple business and observances, and no published notice sets viewing hours or an admission fee. Anyone hoping to see inside should telephone the temple in advance on 0883-63-2015.
No posted notice prohibiting photography within the precincts could be confirmed. If you are shown the interior, ask separately before photographing the rooms.
Access is about ten minutes by taxi from Sadamitsu Station on the JR Tokushima Line, or about five minutes by car from the Mima interchange on the Tokushima Expressway. The Mima City tourism site lists parking for the temple quarter at Teramachi Nanmatsu-no-oka, with space for 30 cars. Local volunteer guides work by prior arrangement on 090-4336-8882.
Q&A
- Can you see inside the Anrakuji Shoin, and is there an admission fee?
- The exterior can be viewed from the precincts. The rooms are used for temple business, and no published source sets viewing hours or an admission charge. Telephone the temple on 0883-63-2015 in advance if you hope to see the interior.
- When was the Anrakuji Shoin built?
- In 1925. It is a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 94 square meters, entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 7, 2009.
- How is the Anrakuji Shoin laid out inside?
- Two rooms run east to west, one of 10 mats and one of 12 and a half mats. Verandas wrap the east, south and west sides, with a plank veranda at the rear. Each room has an alcove, shelving recess and writing alcove, and carved transoms divide the two.
- What is unusual about the roof of the Anrakuji Shoin?
- The main roof is a hip-and-gable form in round-and-flat tiling, while the skirt roof around it uses pantiles. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the resulting exterior as light yet settled.
- How do you reach the Anrakuji Shoin, and is there parking?
- About ten minutes by taxi from Sadamitsu Station on the JR Tokushima Line, or about five minutes by car from the Mima interchange on the Tokushima Expressway. Parking for 30 cars is listed at Teramachi Nanmatsu-no-oka.
Basic Information
| Name | Anrakuji Shoin |
|---|---|
| Location | 11 Miyanishi, Mima-cho, Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structures) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2009 (Heisei 21) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Building area 94 square meters |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Anrakuji Temple |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the precincts; interior by prior arrangement |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Anrakuji Shoin
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007803
- Mima City Tourism Site: Anrakuji, Registered Tangible Cultural Property
- https://www.city.mima.lg.jp/kanko/map/list/4055.html
- Mima City Tourism Site: Teramachi, Anrakuji
- https://www.city.mima.lg.jp/kanko/map/list/11521.html
- Mima City Tourism Site: Teramachi Temple Quarter
- https://www.city.mima.lg.jp/kanko/map/list/11519.html
Last verified: 2026.09.09