Shitenno-ji Temple Building Layout (四天王寺式伽藍配置)

The Shitenno-ji Temple building layout (Shitenno-ji shiki garan haichi in Japanese) is one of the representative styles of temple building layout in the Asuka period.

Style

A nandai-mon gate (a main gate facing south), a chu-mon gate (a gate behind a nandai-mon gate), a pagoda, a kon-do hall (the main hall of a Buddhist temple) and a ko-do hall (lecture hall) are aligned in a north-south direction. Buildings such as Shitenno-ji Temple in Tennoji Ward, Osaka City, are arranged using this layout.

[Original Japanese]