rinzou　輪蔵

KEY WORD :　architecture / buildings & structures

Also called kaiten rinzou 回転輪蔵. Octagonal sutra storage shelves that revolve around a central pillar that arts as a pivot. Revolving shelves were convenient because they allowed priests and monks to select the needed sutra quickly. Eventually, in some sutra repositories of the rinzou type, the faithful were permitted to push the shelves around the pillar while praying even though they did not or could not read the sutras. For example the Ankokuji 安国寺 sutra storage shelves *kyouzou 経蔵 (1407) in Gifu prefecture, are octagonal. The structure that contains the shelves is 1×1 bay with a single-bay deep enclosure that has a pent roof *mokoshi 裳階 surrounding it. Above the central core *moya 母屋, the framework was made with 3-bays. The roof is hip-and-gable *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造, with a central pillar for the pivot to carry the rinzou. This is the oldest extant sutra repository with a rinzou. It also has characteristics of the Zen style *zenshuuyou 禅宗様. Another example is Kongoubuji Oku-in Kyouzou 金剛峯寺奥院経蔵 (1599) in Wakayama prefecture. It is a 3×3 bay structure with pyramidal roof *hougyou-zukuri 宝形造, covered with cypress bark *hiwadabuki 桧皮葺. It is very simple building with timber flooring and a small rinzou.

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