Jikido Refectory 食堂

Official explanation

This Refectory building dates from the Nara period (710–794) and was originally a temple office (mandokoro-ya). It was converted to a dining room for priests in the Heian period (794–1185). The Japanese word jikido is today more commonly pronounced shokudo, meaning restaurant or dining room, but in the ancient past eating itself served as a form of religious practice and the refectory was also a place of prayer. Priests use the hall to celebrate the birthday of Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha on April 8 in a ceremony known as Bussho-e.

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.