What the Main Priests' Quarters Are
Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters is a building of 1895 on the eastern side of the Tairyuji Temple precinct in Kamo-cho, Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture, entered in the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties in 2013. It is a single-storey timber building roofed in copper sheet, with a building area of 944 square metres, the largest of the nine registered buildings at the temple.
The eastern half is the Hōjō, the abbot's hall; the western half is the Kuri, the kitchen and living wing. Both are roofed in the Irimoya-zukuri hipped-and-gabled form in copper sheet, and a formal Shikidai entrance under an undulating gable links them. The goma hall adjoins the complex on its western side.
944 Square Metres, Kept Plain
The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls this a large set of priests' quarters with a plain exterior, and that phrase carries the character of the building. It is far and away the biggest thing in the precinct by floor area, yet it makes no display of the fact.
Splitting the accommodation into two wings joined by an entrance is itself the device that breaks up the mass. As a single block, 944 square metres would overwhelm a mountain-top compound. Divided between abbot's hall and kitchen wing, under two separate roofs, Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters comes down to a height and width that sit beside the halls around it.
One point alone carries concentrated design: the undulating gable over the formal entrance. Set between the two hipped-and-gabled roofs, its shallow double curve steps forward at the centre. The way in is legible at a glance, and the whole frontal emphasis of the building rests on that single feature.
Nine Rooms, a Private Chapel, and a Dragon Overhead
The abbot's hall is laid out on the nine-room plan, three rooms by three, with the central room serving as the private chapel. A broad aisle runs along the front, and the Ranma transoms are filled with elaborately carved panels. The standing of an abbot's hall shows in how the rooms are arranged and in the labour spent on the transoms, and Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters invests in both.
On the ceiling of the wide corridor in front of the chapel, a dragon is painted. The temple explains that it was put there so that no further calamity would reach the quarters after the Meiji fire, and names the painter as Takemura Shorei of Aki in Kochi Prefecture, a pupil of Kono Bairei of the Shijo school. Placing a water-ruling dragon overhead to hold fire at bay is found at temples across Japan; here the motive is unusually specific, since the painting went into a building raised on ground that had just burned.
The ropeway operator's account places this dragon ceiling in a chapel located between the main hall and the hexagonal scripture repository, which does not match the temple's own description. Since the record of the Agency for Cultural Affairs puts the chapel at the centre of the abbot's hall, this article follows the temple and the Agency.
Seeing Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters
The exterior of Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters is visible from the approach path. Taking in all 944 square metres at once is difficult, so the practical method is to fix on the break between the two roofs, where the entrance gable steps forward, and then let the eye travel out to either side. The western face is blocked by the goma hall.
The building also houses the office where pilgrims have their books stamped, so visitors do come to it. No official guidance covers access to the interior, however, including the nine rooms of the abbot's hall and the dragon ceiling. Whether any of that can be seen is a question for the temple on the day. No notice on photography was found.
Walking the approach, it appears after the hexagonal scripture repository and the goma hall, and the stone steps beyond it climb to the bell tower gate and the main hall. Directions to the precinct and the general conditions for a visit are collected on the Tairyuji Temple page.
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Q&A
- What kind of building is Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters?
- A single-storey timber building of 1895, roofed in copper sheet, with a building area of 944 square metres. The eastern half is the abbot's hall and the western half the kitchen and living wing, linked by a formal entrance under an undulating gable.
- Is Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters the largest building at the temple?
- It is the largest of the nine registered buildings, at 944 square metres, close to sixty times the 16 square metres of the smallest, the Founder's Image Hall.
- What is the dragon ceiling at Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters?
- A dragon painted on the ceiling of the broad corridor in front of the private chapel. The temple explains that it was placed there after the Meiji fire so that no further calamity would reach the building, and names the painter as Takemura Shorei of Aki in Kochi Prefecture, a pupil of Kono Bairei of the Shijo school.
- How is the abbot's hall in Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters laid out?
- On a nine-room plan, three by three, with the central room as the private chapel. A broad aisle runs along the front and the transoms carry elaborate carved panels.
- Can the interior of Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters be seen?
- The exterior is visible from the approach path. No official guidance covers access to the interior, so ask at the temple.
Basic Information
| Name | Tairyuji Temple Main Priests' Quarters |
|---|---|
| Location | Tatsuyama 1, Kamo-cho, Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered in 2013 (Heisei 25) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, copper-sheet roof, building area 944 square metres |
| Owner | Tairyuji Religious Corporation |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the approach path; no opening of the interior is published |
References
- Tairyuji Main Priests' Quarters, National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009672
- Tairyuji Main Priests' Quarters, Cultural Heritage Online, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/229448
- Tairyuji, Temple 21 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage (official site)
- https://www.tairyuji21.jp/
- About the Tairyuji Ropeway, Shikoku Cable Co., Ltd.
- https://www.shikoku-cable.co.jp/tairyuji/outline/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
