Shichidō garan

''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 KōjienKōsetsu 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".

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, 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, capital of Baekje 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 in Ōsaka.

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 ''hon-dō'' (main hall), a '' tō'' (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 Kōjien

A 15th-century text describes how Zen school temples (Sōtō (), Rinzai ()) included a '' butsuden'' or ''butsu-dō'' (main hall), a ''hattō'' (lecture hall), a ''kuin'' (kitchen/office), a ''sō-dō'' (building dedicated to Zazen), a ''sanmon'' (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, Shitennō-ji, Hōryū-ji, and Yakushi-ji. 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 temple of the " Shōtoku" sect in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its ''garan'' is composed of (see plan on the right):

A ''Chū mon'' (中門)

In a temple, the gate after the ''naindaimon'' connected to a ''kairō''

B '' Kairō'' (回廊・廻廊)

A long and roofed portico-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''

A pagoda, which is an evolution of the stupa (a kind of reliquary) . 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 sūtras 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 Sōtō sect in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture.

A '' Sōmon'' (総門)

The gate at the entrance of a temple. It precedes the bigger and more important ''sanmon''.

B ''Sanmon'' (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 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 sūtra 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