Dō (architecture)

. It is very often used in Japanese Buddhism as a suffix in the name of some of the many buildings that can be part of a Japanese temple compound. (Other endings, for example -''den'' as in ''butsuden'', exist.) The suffix can be the name of a deity associated with it (e.g. ''Yakushi-dō'', a name customarily translated as " Yakushi Hall") or express the building's function within the temple's compound (e.g. '' hon-dō'', or main hall).Hall names are capitalized only when they refer to specific examples (e.g. XX-ji's Main Hall) or include proper names of deities (e.g. Yakushi-dō).

Some words ending in -''dō'' are ''Butsu-dō'', ''hō-dō'', ''hon-dō'', ''jiki-dō'', ''kaisan-dō'', ''kō-dō'', ''kon-dō'', ''kyō-dō'', ''mandara-dō'', ''miei-dō'', ''mi-dō'', ''sō-dō'', ''Yakushi-dō'' and ''zen-dō''. With some exceptions, for example the words ''hondō'', ''hokke-dō'' and ''kon-dō'', these terms do not indicate any particular structure.

The suffix is used sometimes also in a lay context, as for example in the word .

A ''dō's'' size is measured in '' ken'', where a ''ken'' is the interval between two pillars of a traditional-style building. A ''kon-dō'' for example is a 9x7 ''ken''. The word is usually translated in English as "bay" and is better understood as an indication of proportions than as a unit of measurement.

Types

*''Amida-dō'' (阿弥陀堂) – a building that enshrines a statue of Amida.
*''daishi-dō'' (大師堂) – lit. "great master hall". A building dedicated to Kōbō Daishi (Shingon) or Dengyō Daishi (Tendai).
*''hattō*'' (法堂) – lit. ''Dharma'' hall". A building dedicated to lectures by the chief priest on Buddhism's scriptures (the ''hō'').Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version
*''hō-dō'' (法堂) – see ''hattō''.
*''hokke-dō*'' (法華堂) – lit. "Lotus Sūtra hall". In Tendai Buddhism, a hall whose layout allows walking around a statue for meditation. The purpose of walking is to concentrate on the '' Lotus Sũtra'' and seek the ultimate truth.
*'' hon-dō*'' (本堂) – lit. "main hall", it is the building that houses the most important statues and objects of cult. The term is thought to have evolved to avoid the term ''kon-dō'' used by six Nara sects (the '' Nanto Rokushū'') for their main halls. Structurally similar, but its inner less strictly defined.
*''jiki-dō*'' (食堂) – a monastery's refectory.
*''kaisan-dō'' (開山堂) – founder's hall, usually at a Zen temple. Building enshrining a statue, portrait or memorial tablet of the founder of either the temple or the sect it belongs to. Jōdo sect temples often call it ''miei-dō''.
* ''kō-dō*'' (講堂) – lecture hall of a non-Zen '' garan''.
*''kon-dō*'' (金堂) – lit. "golden hall", it is the main hall of a ''garan'', housing the main object of worship. Unlike a ''butsuden'', it is a true two-story building (although the second story may sometimes be missing) which measures 9x7 bays.
*''kyō-dō'' (経堂) – see ''kyōzō''.
*''kyōzō'' (経蔵) – lit. "scriptures deposit". Repository of sūtras and books about the temple's history. Also called ''kyō–dō''.
*''mandara-dō'' (曼荼羅堂) – lit. "hall of mandalas", but the name is now used only for Taima-dera's Main Hall in Nara.
*''miei-dō*'' (御影堂) – lit. "image hall". Building housing an image of the temple's founder, equivalent to a Zen sect's ''kaisan-dō''.
*''mi-dō'' (御堂) – a generic honorific term for a building which enshrines a sacred statue.
*''rokkaku-dō'' (六角堂) – a hexagonal temple building. An example of this type of structure gives its nickname to Kyoto's Chōhō-ji, better known as Rokkaku-dō.
*''shaka-dō'' (釈迦堂) – lit. Shakyamuni hall. A building enshrining a statue of Buddha.
*''sō-dō*'' (僧堂) – lit. "monk hall". A building dedicated to the practice of ''zazen''. It used to be dedicated to various activities, from eating to sleeping, centered on ''zazen''.
*''soshi-dō'' (祖師堂) – lit. "patriarchs hall". A building dedicated to the ''soshi'', important teachers and priests.
*''Yakushi-dō*'' (薬師堂) – a building that enshrines a statue of Yakushi Nyorai.
*'' zen-dō*'' (禅堂) – lit. "hall of Zen". The building where monks practice ''zazen'', and one of the main structures of a Zen ''garan''.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Do (Architecture)
Japanese Buddhist architecture
Japanese architectural features