What the Daishi Hall Is
Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall is a Buddhist hall of 1877 standing on the northwestern side of the Tairyuji Temple precinct in Kamo-cho, Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture, and it was 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 108 square metres, three bays square, with a one-bay Kōhai porch at the front and a veranda all round.
The building is not self-contained. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall as a hall for worshipping the Founder's Image Hall, which stands immediately to the west. The two work as a pair, and this is the worship hall of the two.
A Pair Modelled on the Inner Sanctuary at Mount Koya
Splitting the function between a front hall for worship and a rear hall for the image follows the arrangement at Okunoin on Mount Koya, and the temple describes its own layout in exactly those terms. Visitors cross a bridge, pass along the covered gallery of the worship hall and continue towards the rear. The image of Kobo Daishi is kept in the rear hall, and the temple records that the ten disciples of the Daishi are painted on the walls of the worship hall.
Inside Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall the rear two bays form the Naijin and the front bay the Gejin. Dividing a three-bay square front to back leaves the outer sanctuary just one bay deep: the minimum a worship hall needs, with the remainder given to the inner space.
The registration rests on that pairing. What was recognised is not the size of one building but the way the two together shape the northwestern corner of the grounds.
Two Gables Stacked Over the Entrance
Roof and carving carry the interest at Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall. A Chidori-hafu dormer gable sits on the Irimoya-zukuri roof, and below it the porch is finished with a Noki-karahafu, the undulating gable that curves up at the centre. One outline is a plain triangle, the other a shallow double curve, and stacking them deepens the shadow across the front.
Carving reaches most of the visible timber, including the Kōryō beams and the Ranma transoms. The subjects are auspicious beasts and wave patterns, worked at a density that leaves little plain surface. The ropeway operator's account adds that Chinese myths and folk tales appear in the carving of the worship hall.
The main hall of 1852 is held together by heavy timber and a few carved struts. Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall, twenty-five years later, goes the other way entirely. Seeing both tastes within one precinct is part of what this hall offers.
Seeing Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall
Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall faces east, so the exterior reads best from the eastern side during the morning. From directly in front, the undulating gable of the porch and the dormer gable above it fall into the same view. To follow the carving in detail, work along the veranda and take the beams and transoms in turn.
As for the interior, on the twenty-first day of the third lunar month the mausoleum is opened for a service in memory of Kobo Daishi, and the temple says worshippers may take part inside the hall. For other days there is no published guidance on entering Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall, so ask on site. No notice about photography inside was found either.
Because the building is entered by way of a covered gallery, it has its own conventions, including about footwear. Directions to the precinct and the general conditions for a visit are collected on the Tairyuji Temple page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Tokushima
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall
- [ Iya Valley Vine Bridges & Awa Odori Dance ]
Q&A
- What kind of building is Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall?
- A single-storey timber hall of 1877, roofed in copper sheet, with a building area of 108 square metres. It is three bays square with a one-bay front porch, and carries a dormer gable on the hipped-and-gabled roof and an undulating gable over the porch.
- How does Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall differ from the Founder's Image Hall?
- Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall is the hall from which the Founder's Image Hall is worshipped, so it functions as the front worship hall. The image of Kobo Daishi is kept in the rear hall. The temple describes the arrangement as following Okunoin on Mount Koya.
- Can visitors enter Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall?
- On the twenty-first day of the third lunar month the temple says worshippers may take part in the service inside the hall. There is no published guidance for other days, so ask at the temple.
- What is carved on Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall?
- Auspicious beasts and wave patterns cover the beams and transoms at close spacing. The ropeway operator's account also records Chinese myths and folk tales in the carving of the worship hall.
- Where in the precinct is Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall?
- On the northwestern side, facing east, with the Founder's Image Hall immediately to its west. From the main hall it lies round to the northwest.
Basic Information
| Name | Tairyuji Temple Daishi Hall |
|---|---|
| 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 108 square metres |
| Owner | Tairyuji Religious Corporation |
| Public Access | Exterior viewable from the grounds; worshippers may take part inside during the lunar-calendar service |
References
- Tairyuji Daishi Hall, National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009667
- Tairyuji Daishi Hall, Cultural Heritage Online, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/273583
- 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
