endou　円堂

KEY WORD :　architecture / buildings & structures

Lit. circular hall. Although the literal meaning of endou is round structure (see *hougyou-zukuri 宝形造), in reality there are no full sized, truly circular halls at Buddhist temples or Shinto Shines still extant. There is a type of miniature pagoda that is truly circular which may suggest that circular structures did exist at some ancient time. See *houtou 宝塔. Hexagonal halls *rokkaku endou 六角円堂, exist but are far fewer than octagonal halls *hakkaku endou 八角円堂. Since the roofs of these halls are pyramidal, the roof of the hexagonal building is called a six segment roof *rokuchuu-zukuri 六注造, and the roof over an octagonal structure is called an eight segment roof *hatchuu-zukuri 八注造. These halls are often placed on double stone podia. Entrances are placed opposite each other and vertical muntin windows are set in four of the segments. Eizanji 栄山寺 has only four central pillars that mark the sacred area on the interior while other octagonal halls usually have eight interior pillars. Such buildings are generally dedicated to a particular deity to whom prayers are offered for the deceased. Examples; Eizanji *Hakkakudou 栄山寺八角堂 (757-64), Nara. Choukouji *Jizoudou 長光寺地蔵堂 (1510), Aichi prefecture.

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