Kuroshoin 黒書院

Official explanation

The Kuroshoin is a hybrid building composed primarily of the Rengekoin, a court-affiliated temple that used to be in eastern Kyoto and was moved to Ninnaji in 1910. The structure includes a main building as well as east and west wings, with a tiled hip-and-gable (irimoya-zukuri) roof over the core of the building and raised aisles (hisashi) that run around the structure.

The building contains six separate rooms, but as it was pieced together from architectural elements from other buildings, not all the rooms are the same. The northwest corner room features a special coffered ceiling and other typical decorative features (zashiki-kazari) of residential architecture, such as a tokonoma alcove where art or flowers are displayed.

Read the full explanation

Despite the incorporation of these diverse design elements, the building presents a visually unified whole in the same style as both the Shiroshoin and the Shinden. The Kuroshoin is linked to both these buildings by walkways, and their architectural continuity reflects their shared role as ceremonial spaces.

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.