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In Japanese architecture, the is the core of a building. Originally, the central part of a residential building was called ''omoya''. After the introduction of
The drawing shows the floor plan of a typical Zen main ''butsuden'' such as the one in the photo above at
In Japanese architecture, the is the core of a building. Originally, the central part of a residential building was called ''omoya''. After the introduction of Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
to Japan in the 6th century, ''moya'' has been used to denote the sacred central area of a temple building. It is generally surrounded by aisle like areas called '' hisashi''. In temples constructed in the hip-and-gable style ('' irimoya-zukuri''), the gabled part usually covers the ''moya'' while the hipped part covers the aisles.
A ''butsuden's'' floor plan
The drawing shows the floor plan of a typical Zen main ''butsuden'' such as the one in the photo above at Enkaku-ji
, or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhism, Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountain System, Five Mountains. It is situated in the List of cities in Japan, city of Kamak ...
in Kamakura
, officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...
. The core of the building (''moya'') is 3 x 3 ken wide and is surrounded on four sides by a 1-ken wide ''hisashi'', bringing the external dimensions of the edifice to a total of 5 x 5 ken. Because the ''hisashi'' is covered by a pent roof of its own, the ''butsuden'' seems to have two stories, but in fact has only one.
This decorative pent roof which does not correspond to an internal vertical division is called , literally "skirt story" or "cuff story".
The same structure can be found in a '' tahōtō'' with the same effect: the structure seems to have a second story, but in fact it doesn't.
References
Architecture in Japan {{Buddhist temples in Japan