Daijuji Temple Monks' Hall

A Large Training Hall with a Proud Past

The Daijuji Temple Monks' Hall (大樹寺僧堂, Daijuji Sodo) is a single-storey timber Zen training hall built in 1955 at Daijuji in Fukuchi, Yazu Town, Tottori Prefecture, which in 2024 was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a tiled roof and a building area of 166 square metres, with renovation in 2011; it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape.

The Agency describes a large training hall that preserves the tradition of having once been the only specialist training hall in the Chugoku region.

Structure

According to the Agency, it stands northeast of the main hall facing west, with a hip-and-gable pantiled roof entered on the long side.

Inside is a single earth-floored room with a batten ceiling, ringed by an earth-floored aisle. A statue of Monju Bosatsu stands at the centre, and three rows of meditation platforms run east and west.

What to Look For

Yazu Town describes it as the only specialist Soto Zen training hall in the Chugoku region, said to be so strict that monks who had trained at Eiheiji came here to complete their training.

The Monju statue at the centre and the three rows of meditation platforms show the hall as a place of Zen practice.

Visiting

As a place of practice, no official information on access to the interior could be found.

Directions and information on the whole precinct are on the Daijuji Temple group page.