Kai Zenkoji Temple Main Hall

About the Main Hall

The Kai Zenkoji Temple Main Hall (善光寺本堂) is the main hall (Kondo) of Kai Zenkoji in Zenkoji, Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, a vast shumoku-style Buddhist hall whose framework was raised in 1785, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on June 22, 1955 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as eleven bays by seven, with two roof tiers over a single storey, shumoku plan, entrance on the gable end, a three-bay front canopy with a cusped gable and one-bay side canopies, and copper roofing; it is owned by Zenkoji. The temple notes that a shrine cabinet and two ridge tags are designated with it.

History and Rebuilding

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records that Kai Zenkoji was founded in 1558 when the images and treasures of Shinano Zenkoji, burned in the Kawanakajima wars, were moved here. The temple and Kofu City relate that Takeda Shingen, fearing for Shinano Zenkoji, brought its principal image, treasures and monks to Kai.

The original buildings were lost to a fire spreading from the town in 1754. According to Kofu City, rebuilding of the present hall began in 1766 and it was dedicated in 1796 after 30 years of work; the Agency for Cultural Affairs gives 1785 for the raising of the frame. A five-year restoration from 1957 gave it its present appearance (Kai Zenkoji).

Value as an Important Cultural Property

The Kai Zenkoji Temple Main Hall was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1955. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as a grand, deep hall with a double roof in shumoku form. Slightly smaller and more slender in its timbers than the main hall of Zenkoji in Nagano, it is richly decorated inside and out, and shows the style of its time, making it a representative large building of the late Edo period.

What to Look For

Seen from above, the east-west and north-south roofs form a T, resembling the wooden striker of a temple bell, hence the name shumoku-zukuri (Kofu City). Kai Zenkoji gives an overall height of 27 metres and a depth of 49.1 metres, making it one of the largest wooden buildings in eastern Japan.

Inside, the outer, middle, inner, innermost and rear sanctuaries follow one another deep into the hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Two dragons painted by the Edo artist Kisai on the middle sanctuary ceiling echo when visitors clap, the famous "crying dragon". Beneath the main altar runs the dark kaidan-meguri passage, where touching a key links visitors to the principal image (Kai Zenkoji).

Visiting

According to Kai Zenkoji, admission is 500 yen for adults and 250 yen for elementary school children, with entry from 9:00 to 16:30 (longer during the periodic unveiling of the sacred image). The temple is a 7-minute walk from Zenkoji Station on the JR Minobu Line and a 15-minute walk from Sakaori Station on the JR Chuo Line, with free parking (Kai Zenkoji).

In front of the Kai Zenkoji Temple Main Hall stands the Sanmon Gate, also an Important Cultural Property. See the group page Kai Zenkoji Temple for both buildings.