Architecture of the Main Hall (Kondō) 金堂の建築

Official explanation

When the Main Hall was rebuilt in 1603, more than a century after it was destroyed in a fire, its designers mixed architectural styles from Tōji’s distant past with more recent innovations. The building is considered a masterpiece of the grand and often era-jumbling approach to architecture that developed in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568–1603). The design blends the tall pillars and exposed bracketing of the Great-Buddha-Hall style (Daibutsuyō) with the simpler curved lines of the older Japanese style (Wayō). The outer walls, beams, and ornaments were originally painted in bright colors.

From the outside, the two roofs make the structure appear to have two stories, but the lower of the two roofs is ornamental. The interior is a single space with a 12-meter-high ceiling. At the front of the building, the lower decorative roof has an elevated window in the center, a feature also seen at the Great Buddha Hall at Tōdaiji in Nara and at the Phoenix Hall at Byōdōin in Uji. The window is opened during ceremonies at the hall, illuminating the statues inside.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.