Daisodo or Hatto

In alphabet, it is spelled the same as the Founder's Hall above, but slightly different in kanji characters and pronunciation. It serves as a Senbutsujo, a hall in which screening of priests who attained Nirvana are conducted (a Zen sect version of ordainment) and is one of the most important structures for Zen temples. Usually built to the west of the main hall, it is dedicated to a statue of Monju Bosatsu or Manjusri Bodhisattva in Skt. , which is the Bodhisattva of wisdom and intellect. Today's Daisodo here is the main training center for Zen priests.

In this hall, they sleep, eat, study and practice Zazen. Each is given a space of only one tatami mat (1.8 by 0.9 meters). There are three places Zen priests have to keep absolutely silent: Dining rooms, bathrooms and restrooms. While eating, bathing or excreting, they are not allowed to make any noise. These acts are thought to provide them with good opportunities to train themselves. The hall, therefore, must always be quiet, so quiet as you might hear a pin drop. They also study Buddhism in this hall right in front of Monju Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of wisdom and intellect

The building was designed by Chuta Ito (1867-1954), an authority on Japanese architectural history and professor of Tokyo University, who unearthed the stone Buddhist images at Yungang, China for the first time and introduced them to the world. He is also known as an expert on the architecture of Horyuji in Nara. Included among the famous buildings he designed are Meiji Jingu Shrine, Tsukiji Honganji, both in Tokyo, and Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto. In 1943, he was awarded an Order of Cultural Merit, first ever from the architectural field. The copper- and semi-gable roofed building of the Temple took seven years to be completed in 1933.