Suo Kokubunji Temple Golden Hall

The Great Hall of Suo's Provincial Temple

The Suo Kokubunji Temple Golden Hall (国分寺金堂) is the golden hall of the provincial temple of Suo of 1779 in Kokubunjicho, Hofu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on September 2, 1989 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a two-tiered hall seven bays by four under a hip-and-gable roof of round-and-flat tiles, with one-bay porches under cusped gables front and back; an old wind bell and an old ridge-end tile are designated with it; designation number 02229.

A Hall on the Original Temple Site

According to the Agency, this is the kokubunji, the official provincial temple, of the old province of Suo, one of the temples built in every province by imperial command. Its precinct is a national Historic Site and has hardly changed since the temple was founded. The present golden hall was built in 1779 with the lord of the Mori family as its patron.

The Yamaguchi tourism association notes that the temple was founded under the emperor's edict of 741, that excavations show the hall has been rebuilt again and again on the site of the original Nara-period hall, and that the present hall still rests on the original foundation stones.

Why It Is an Important Cultural Property

The Agency describes a massive hall seven bays by four under a double roof, with a lofty interior and an altar platform of ancient form; its exterior and plan carry the tradition of the original temple, while the cusped porches show early modern taste. A large golden hall surviving at a provincial temple is rare anywhere in Japan, the Agency notes.

What to Look For

Look for the imposing double-roofed front and the cusped porches (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The tourism association suggests looking under the floor, too, at the original Nara-period foundation stones.

Visiting

According to the Yamaguchi tourism association, the hall is open from 9:00 to 16:00 and closed on Mondays; admission is 500 yen for adults. Take the bus from JR Hofu Station toward Amidaji and walk 5 minutes from the Kokubunji stop.