Tokoji Temple Buddha Hall

The Hall That Survived Two Fires

The Tokoji Temple Buddha Hall (東光寺仏殿) is a Zen Buddha hall of the late Muromachi period in Tokojimachi, Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on April 25, 1927 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records three bays by three, single-storey with a pent roof (mokoshi), hip-and-gable, roofed in cypress bark; designation number 00836.

The 1927 date in the Agency record is that of its designation under the former law.

Spared by War Twice

Yamanashi Prefecture says Tokoji, a temple of the Myoshinji branch of Rinzai Zen, is said to have been founded in the Bun'ei era (1264-1274) with Rankei Doryu of Kenchoji as its first abbot, rebuilt with the support of Takeda Shingen in the Tenbun era (1532-1554), and flourished as one of the five great Zen temples of Kofu.

When Oda forces burned the temple in 1582, and again when the buildings rebuilt in the Edo period burned in the air raids of 1945, only the Buddha hall was left standing (Yamanashi Prefecture).

Why It Is an Important Cultural Property

According to Yamanashi Prefecture, the hall stands on a low platform with a pent roof wrapped round its core, so that the hip-and-gable roof of cypress bark appears double. It follows the Zen Buddha hall type but has been altered over time and differs somewhat from other Zen halls; together with two other medieval Zen halls in the prefecture, it is important for tracing the course of medieval Zen architecture.

What to Look For

Look for the cypress-bark roof that the pent roof makes appear double (Yamanashi Prefecture). Behind the main hall and the priests' quarters is a pond garden in the manner of the mid-Kamakura period, designated a Place of Scenic Beauty by the prefecture.

Visiting

It is owned by Tokoji Temple (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on visiting hours or fees was found.