|  Also written 賎院. The quarters where the lowliest 
serfs lived in a Buddhist temple. In ancient Japan, these people were usually 
slaves who were bought and sold but could also be given to a temple by their owners 
who would legally release all claim to them. Living quarters for these people 
have been identified at Yakushiji 薬師寺, in Nara. Although little is known about 
the buildings it is assumed that they were of the humblest type. According to 
the restoration plan devised by Dr. Fukuyama Toshio 福山敏男, the quarters for serfs 
were within the utilitarian area of the the temple grounds. |