''Shichidō garan'' is a Japanese Buddhist term indicating the seven halls composing the ideal Buddhist temple compound. This compound word is composed of , literally meaning "seven halls", and , meaning "temple". The term is often shortened to just ''garan''. Which seven halls the term refers to varies, and 七堂 may be a misinterpretation of , meaning "complete temple".Iwanami

Kōjien is a single-volume Japanese dictionary first published by Iwanami Shoten in 1955. It is widely regarded as the most authoritative dictionary of Japanese, and newspaper editorials frequently cite its definitions. As of 2007, it had sold 11 mil ...

Kōsetsu Bukkyō Daijiten (広説仏教語大辞典) In practice, ''shichidō garan'' often simply means a large temple with many buildings.

Etymology and history of the term

in Japanese is an abbreviated form of the expression , itself a transliteration of the Sanskrit ''saMghaaraama'' (सँघाराम), literally meaning "garden for monks".JAANUS, ''garan'' A Japanese ''garan'' was originally just a park where monks gathered together with their teacher, but the term later came to mean "

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism repres ...

". The word ''garan'' can be found in a record in Nihon Shoki dated 552, although no monastery of this time survives, so we don't know what they were like. The compound word is found in a much more recent literature of

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

, referring to a complex that had a complete set of buildings forming an ideal Buddhist temple.

Early ''garan'' layout

A record dated 577 in the Nihon Shoki states that a mission including among others a temple architect and a Buddhist image maker was sent by to Japan, with more Buddhist related artisans sent over in the following years. Excavations carried out between 1979-1980 on the temple site of Jeongnimsa in

Buyeo Buyeo or Puyŏ ( Korean: 부여; Korean pronunciation: u.jʌ or 扶餘 ''Fúyú''), also rendered as Fuyu, was an ancient kingdom that was centered in northern Manchuria in modern-day northeast China. It is sometimes considered a Korea ...

, capital of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

from 538 to 663, revealed that the original temple was laid out in a typical north-to-south style with key buildings put on the center axis, which was an arrangement closely adhered to at

Shitennō-ji Shitennō-ji ( ja, 四天王寺, ''Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings'') is a Buddhist temple in Ōsaka, Japan. It is also known as Arahaka-ji, Nanba-ji, or Mitsu-ji. The temple is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and oldest officially-a ...

Ōsaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...

Composition of a ''shichidō garan''

What is counted in the group of seven buildings, or ''shichidō'', can vary greatly from temple to temple, from sect to sect, and from time to time. As mentioned above, ''shichidō garan'' could mean a complete temple or even simply a large temple complex. According to a 13th-century text, "a garan is a temple with a ''kon-dō'' (main hall), a ''

tō Multi-storied pagodas in wood and stone, and a ''gorintō'' Pagodas in Japan are called , sometimes or and historically derive from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian ''stupa''. Like the ''stupa'', pagodas were origi ...

'' (pagoda), a ''kō-dō'' (lecture hall), a '' shōrō'' (belfry), a ''jiki-dō'' (refectory), a ''sōbō'' (monks' living quarters), and a '' kyōzō'' (scriptures deposit, library)." These are the seven listed as ''shichidō'' elements of a temple.Iwanami

A 15th-century text describes how

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

school temples (

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngsh� ...

(), Rinzai ()) included a '' butsuden'' or ''butsu-dō'' (main hall), a ''hattō'' (lecture hall), a ''kuin'' (kitchen/office), a ''sō-dō'' (building dedicated to

Zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technical ...

), a ''

sanmon A , also called , is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen '' shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other de ...

'' (main gate), a ''tōsu'' (toilet) and a ''yokushitsu'' (bath).

Loss of importance of the pagoda within the ''garan''

Because of the relics they contained, wooden pagodas used to be the centerpiece of the ''garan'', the seven edifices considered indispensable for a temple.* They gradually lost importance and were replaced by the '' kondō'' (golden hall), because of the magic powers believed to lie within the images the building housed. This loss of status was so complete that the Zen sects, which arrived late in Japan from China, normally do not build any pagoda at all. The layout of four early temples clearly illustrates this trend: they are in chronological order

Asuka-dera , also known as , is a Buddhist temple in Asuka, Nara. Asuka-dera is regarded as one of the oldest temples in Japan. Temple complex A number of records refer to the origin of the temple, such as the '' Nihongi'' and ''Fusō-ryakuki''. The o ...

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

Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Seven Great Temples of Nanto, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism. Yakushi-ji is one of th ...

. In the first, the pagoda was at the very center of the ''garan'' surrounded by three small ''kondō'' (see the reconstruction of the temple's original layout). In the second, a single ''kondō'' is at the center of the temple and the pagoda lies in front of it. At Hōryū-ji, they are one next to the other. Yakushi-ji has a single, large ''kondō'' at the center with two pagodas on the sides. The same evolution can be observed in Buddhist temples in China.

Examples of ''garan''

Hōryū-ji

is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple of the " Shōtoku" sect in

Ikaruga is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It is the spiritual sequel to ''Radiant Silvergun'' (1998) and was originally released in Japanese arcades in December 2001. The story follows a rebel pilot named Shinra as he battles an enemy nation us ...

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakaya ...

, Japan. Its ''garan'' is composed of (see plan on the right): A ''Chū

mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

'' (中門)
In a temple, the gate after the ''naindaimon'' connected to a ''kairō'' B ''

Kairō Two examples of ''kairō'' , , is the Japanese version of a cloister, a covered corridor originally built around the most sacred area of a Buddhist temple, a zone which contained the '' kondō'' and the ''tō''. Nowadays it can be found also ...

'' (回廊・廻廊)
A long and roofed

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

-like passage surrounding the ''kondō'' and the pagoda.JAANUS entry of the same name C '' Kon-dō'' (金堂)
The main hall of a ''garan'', housing the main object of worship. D ''

Tō Multi-storied pagodas in wood and stone, and a ''gorintō'' Pagodas in Japan are called , sometimes or and historically derive from the Chinese pagoda, itself an interpretation of the Indian ''stupa''. Like the ''stupa'', pagodas were origi ...

''
A pagoda, which is an evolution of the

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

(a kind of

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...

) . After reaching China, the stupa evolved into a tower with an odd number of tiers (three, five, seven, nine, thirteen). E ''Kōdō'' (講堂)
The lecture hall of a non-Zen ''garan''. F '' Kyōzō'' (経蔵)
Lit. "scriptures deposit". Repository of

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 books about the temple's history. Also called kyōdō. G '' Shōrō'' (鐘楼)
A belfry

Zuiryū-ji

Zuiryū-ji is a Zen temple of the

sect in Takaoka,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

. A '' Sōmon'' (総門)
The gate at the entrance of a temple. It precedes the bigger and more important ''sanmon''. B ''

Sanmon A , also called , is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen '' shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other de ...

'' (三門 or 山門)
The gate in front of the butsuden, most commonly having two stories ( nijūmon). The name is short for , lit. ''gate of the three liberations''. Its openings (, and ) symbolize the three gates to enlightenment. Entering, one can symbolically free him or herself from the three passions of , , and .Zōjō-ji
accessed on May 1, 2009 C ''Kairō'' (回廊)
See above D '' Butsuden'' (仏殿)
Lit. "Hall of Buddha". A building enshrining the statue of Buddha or of a ''bodhisattva'' and dedicated to prayer. E ''Hōdō'' (法堂)
Lit. "

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

hall". A building dedicated to lectures by the chief priest on Buddhism's scriptures (the hō). F ''Zendō'' (禅堂)
Lit. "hall of Zen". The building where monks practice zazen, and one of the main structures of a Zen garan. G ''Shōrō'' (鐘楼)
A belfry H ''Kuri'' (庫裏)
A building hosting the galleys, the kitchen, and the offices of a Zen ''garan''. Another typical Zen ''garan'', of which Kenchō-ji's is a good example, begins with the ''sōmon'' followed by the ''sanmon'', the main hall (the '' butsuden''), the lecture hall (''hattō''), and the chief abbot's residence (''hōjō'') all aligned more or less on a north to south axis, with the bath house (''yokushitsu'') and the

repository ('' kyōzō'') to its east, and the monks' hall (''sodō'') to its west.

Notes

References

Japanese Art Net User System
Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology accessed on April 27, 2009 * Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version {{DEFAULTSORT:Shichido garan Japanese Buddhist architecture