A Showa-era shoin on built-up ground
The Minobusan Kuonji New Shoin (身延山久遠寺新書院, Shin Shoin) is a shoin of 1931, a building of formal reception rooms, standing on artificial ground east of the Great Guest Hall at Minobusan Kuonji in Minobu, Minobu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2018/05/10.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records the Minobusan Kuonji New Shoin as a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a footprint of 199 square metres. It dates from the same year as the Butsuden and Nohaido.
3 rooms of 24 mats
The ridge runs east to west under a hip-and-gable roof of plain pan tiles. The gables are filled with kitsure-goshi, a fine wooden lattice, and along the sides simple boat-shaped brackets, funahijiki, sit on the posts to carry the beams.
Inside, 3 rooms of 24 tatami mats each stand in a row, wrapped on all sides by tatami-floored corridors and verandas. The east and west rooms are fitted with zashiki-kazari, the alcove and shelving of a formal room, and every room has a high coffered ceiling. The agency calls it a modern shoin of high quality and real dignity.
What to look for, and visiting
The temple website does not mention any public opening of the rooms of the Minobusan Kuonji New Shoin. Photography indoors is not allowed as a rule; outside, you can photograph freely.
From outside, look for the lattice in the gables and the boat-shaped brackets at the tops of the posts, and notice the built-up ground beneath the building. North-east of the Great Guest Hall stands the Former Shoin of 1876, and its roof and gables make a good comparison. Hours and directions for the temple are on the Minobusan Kuonji page.
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Q&A
- How do you read the name of the Minobusan Kuonji New Shoin?
- Shin Shoin; the full reading is Minobusan Kuonji Shin Shoin.
- Where is the New Shoin?
- East of the Great Guest Hall in the main temple area, on artificial ground.
- When was the New Shoin built?
- In 1931.
- What is inside the New Shoin?
- 3 rooms of 24 tatami mats in a row, surrounded by tatami corridors and verandas, with formal alcoves in the east and west rooms and high coffered ceilings.
- When was the New Shoin registered as a cultural property?
- On 2018/05/10.
Basic Information
| Name | Minobusan Kuonji New Shoin (身延山久遠寺新書院) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4252 Minobu, Minobu-cho, Minamikoma-gun, Yamanashi Prefecture |
| Designation | National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); registration number 19-123 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2018/05/10 (Heisei 30) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, tiled roof; footprint 199 square metres; 3 rooms of 24 mats |
| Owner | Minobusan Kuonji (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior viewing (no published opening of the interior; no photography inside) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — New Shoin
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012347
- Minobusan Kuonji official site — Guide to the grounds (Japanese)
- https://www.kuonji.jp/precincts/
- Minobusan Kuonji official site — FAQ (Japanese)
- https://www.kuonji.jp/faq/
Last verified: 2026.10.01
