bishamondou　毘沙門堂
KEY WORD :　architecture / buildings & structures
　
A temple hall dedicated to *Bishamonten 毘沙門天, one of the four gods *shitennou 四天王 who guard the cardinal directions. Bishamonten, also called *Tamonten 多門天 is the guardian of the north. One example is the Bishamondou (1327) of Daifukukouji 大福光寺 in Kyoto, which also serves as the main hall of worship, Hondou 本堂. It is a 5 x 5 bay square (12.42m), single-storied structure with a turtle-back mound *kamebara 亀腹, under the building. Struts *tsuka 束, under the building support the veranda and the pillars *hashira 柱, that frame it. The floor in the sanctuary *naijin 内陣, is earthen and the other flooring is made of planks. Bracket complexes are one-stepped *degumi 出組, and within the interstices are bearing block capped struts *kentozuka 間斗束. Eaves are doubled *futanoki 二軒, and rafters are closely spaced *shigedaruki 繁垂木. The roof is hip-and-gable *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造, with diagonal braces *sasu 扠首, in the gable pediments. The roofing is made of cypress bark. The curve of the eaves is well extended. It is basically in the Japanese style *wayou 和様, but some influence from the Zen style *zenshuuyou 禅宗様, can be detected; for example, the paneled doors *karahafu 唐破風, in the three central front bays and Zen style dragon painted board ceiling in the core *moya 母屋. The peripheral areas *hisashi 廂, have open-beamed ceilings *keshou yaneura 化粧屋根裏.
　

Jingoji Bishamondou 神護寺毘沙門堂 (Kyoto)

　
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