Japanese Buddhist architecture Examples of Buddhist architecture in Japan Japanese Buddhist architecture is the architecture of Buddhist temples in Japan, consisting of locally developed variants of architectural styles born in China.p=716/ref> After Buddhism arrived from ...

is a repository for

sūtra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an ap ...

s and chronicles of the temple history. It is also called , , or . In ancient times the ''kyōzō'' was placed opposite the belfry on the east–west axis of the temple. The earliest extant ''kyōzō'' is at

Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its full name is , or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, the complex serving as both a seminary and monastery. The temple was ...

, and it is a two-storied structure. An example of one-storied ''kyōzō'' is at

Tōshōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the '' kondō'', has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archety ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

. A ''kyōzō's'' usual size is 3 x 3 ''ken''. All storage buildings are equipped with shelving to store the containers that hold the rolled sūtras. Some temples have circular revolving shelves for sūtra storage: a central pillar revolves, like a vertical axle, and octahedral tubes are attached to it. A revolving sūtra storage case is called . Revolving shelves are convenient because they allow

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

s and

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s to select the needed sūtra quickly. Eventually, in some ''kyōzō'' the faithful were permitted to push the shelves around the pillar while praying—it was believed that they could receive religious edification without reading the sūtras. Some scripture houses are National Treasures of Japan: * The ''kyōzō'' of

* The ''kyōzō'' of

Ankoku-ji is a kind of Buddhist temple. Ankoku-ji may mean "Temple for National Pacification". There are numerous Ankoku-ji throughout Japan and the world. The ''Ankoku-ji'' system was developed under the Ashikaga shogunate, as part of its stabilizing t ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyozo Japanese Buddhist architecture