When you climb up the stairs, you will lay your eyes upon the main hall, Daihon-dō. This building was built in 1967, so it is relatively new. It also houses Shinshō-ji’s ever so precious Budōmyō’ō. Since entering the main hall is free, definitely go take a took. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to see a homa ritual.

Homa is a holy Buddhist ceremony in which a piece of wood that has wishes written on it is burned and sent up to the heavens along with the embers.This ceremony is held in front of Budōmyō’ō and has been held every single day, without fail, dating back 1,100 years when the first homa is said to have taken place.

This hall is 300 tatami mats large, so 1,500 people can experience a homa at once. Since the main hall has increased in size to accommodate the increasing number of visitors to Shinshō-ji Temple, you can find the “former main hall”, the “former former main hall” and the “former former former main hall” left surrounding this building. As you have probably realized, the temple presently has four main halls, which is extremely unusual. Now, where is the former main hall? Let’s continue our journey!

*Photos are prohibited in the main hall.