Dō (architecture)

Dō. 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. The suffix can be the name of a deity associated with it or express the building's function within the temple's compound.
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 shokudō.
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 – a building that enshrines a statue of Amida.
daishi-dō – lit. "great master hall". A building dedicated to Kōbō Daishi or Dengyō Daishi.
hattō* – lit. Dharma hall". A building dedicated to lectures by the chief priest on Buddhism's scriptures.
hō-dō – see hattō.
hokke-dō* – 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* – 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 for their main halls. Structurally similar, but its inner less strictly defined.
jiki-dō* – a monastery's refectory.
kaisan-dō – 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* – lecture hall of a non-Zen garan.
kon-dō* – 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 which measures 9x7 bays.
kyō-dō – see kyōzō.
kyōzō – lit. "scriptures deposit". Repository of sūtras and books about the temple's history. Also called kyō–dō.
mandara-dō – lit. "hall of mandalas", but the name is now used only for Taima-dera's Main Hall in Nara.
miei-dō* – lit. "image hall". Building housing an image of the temple's founder, equivalent to a Zen sect's kaisan-dō.
mi-dō – a generic honorific term for a building which enshrines a sacred statue.
rokkaku-dō – 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 – lit. Shakyamuni hall. A building enshrining a statue of Buddha.
sō-dō* – 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 – lit. "patriarchs hall". A building dedicated to the soshi, important teachers and priests.
Yakushi-dō* – a building that enshrines a statue of Yakushi Nyorai.
zen-dō* – lit. "hall of Zen". The building where monks practice zazen, and one of the main structures of a Zen garan.