Zuiganji Temple

JAPAN, Miyagi

The temple belongs to the Myoshinji branch of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen Buddhism and is one of the most famous in northeastern Japan. The temple was built by Master Jikaku in 828 during the Heian period, and it belonged to the Tendai school with the name Enpukuji. It was later abandoned and in 1601, during the Momoyama period, Masamune rebuilt the temple and renamed it Zuiganji. After Masamune’s death, in accordance with his final wishes, Ungo Kiyo was invited to be the abbot of the temple.
The main structures of the temple include the main gate, middle gate, main hall, kitchen, and art museum. The main hall and kitchen were listed as National Treasures in 1953 and 1959, respectively. The main hall has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof covered in cylindrical tiles. It measures 39 m by 25.2 m and is surrounded by a wide veranda. Two-tier bracket sets are used to support the roof. The interior has wooden floors and there are six rooms. The Peacock Room in the center is used for holding Dharma services. It is painted in rich colors and the lattice doors and lintels have decorative carvings which are characteristic of the Momoyama period (1573–1615).
The kitchen, measuring 13.8 m by 23.6 m, serves as both kitchen and accommodation. There is a chimney on the hip-and-gable roof. Artfully carved beams and short columns are located under the eaves of the building. The kitchen does not have a ceiling and the horizontal beams under the roof are exposed. This is a distinctive architectural style that was employed during the Momoyama period.