Kyōzō
The Kyōzō ( Japanese 経 蔵 , dt. “ Sutra lager”), also Kyōko ( 経 庫 , dt. Ditto), Kyōdō ( 経 堂 , dt. “Sutrahalle”) or Zōden ( 蔵 殿 , dt in traditional Japanese temple architecture the repository for Buddhist textbooks (sutras) and chronicles of the respective temple.
Following the models of the Asian mainland, the early Buddhist temples of Japan ( Shichidō garan ) were aligned strictly symmetrically. The main buildings, such as the lecture hall ( Kōdō ), the main hall ( Hondō or Kondō ), the pagoda ( Tō ) and the entrance gate ( Chūmon ) were oriented symmetrically to, or along, the north-south main axis. The Kyōzō was often positioned west of this axis, while the bell tower ( Shōrō ) can be found on the east side . The west also symbolizes the direction from which the teachings of the Buddha originate. Since the north with its cold winds stood for evil influences, the entrance to a temple was mostly to the south.
However, at the latest with the emergence of the teachings of so-called Vajrayana (esoteric Buddhism), for example Tendai and Shingon , and before that through Zen , during which temples were also founded in the mountains of Japan, this symmetrical arrangement was abandoned the Kyōzō remained part of many traditional temple complexes.
literature
- Robert E. Fisher: Buddhist Art and Architecture . Thames and Hudson, 1993, ISBN 0-500-20265-6
- Kazuo Nishi, Kazuo Hozumi: What is Japanese Architecture . Kodansha International 1985, ISBN 0-87011-711-4
- Alexander Soper and Alexander Coburn, The Evolution of Buddhist Architecture in Japan . Hacker 1979, ISBN 0878171967
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The Art and Architecture of Japan, Robert Treat Paine and Alexander Soper, Yale University Press, 1981, ISBN 0-300-05333-9 , p. 269