Tower - Tacchu

A branch temple located within the grounds of the main temple. It is also written as "tochu". "To" means "tomb", and originally began when a high priest passed away and his disciple built a small hermitage at the top of the tower to guard his grave. Later, when a high priest from a large temple retired, he built a small hermitage near the temple or within the grounds and lived there. Even after his death, his disciples lived in this small hermitage to guard the tomb and serve the founder as if he were alive, and these are also called sub-temples. As small hermitages were built one after another, their number gradually increased; for example, Engakuji Temple in Kamakura once had 32 hermitages and two temples, and even today it has one temple with 12 hermitages. Originally, sub-temples were subordinate to large temples, but since the Meiji period they have often been treated as independent temples.

[Masayuki Nagai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

本寺の境内にある末寺院。塔中とも書く。塔は墓の意で、もとは高僧が寂すると、弟子がその塔の頭(ほとり)に小庵(しょうあん)を建て、墓を守ったことに始まる。のちには、大寺院の高僧が隠退したときなどに、寺の近くや境内に小院を建てて住し、没後も門下の人々が、この小院に住して墓塔を守り、祖師が生けるがごとく奉仕するに至り、それらをも塔頭と称する。次々と小院が建てられたために、しだいにその数も増え、たとえば鎌倉の円覚寺(えんがくじ)は一時、32庵二院を数え、いまでも12庵一院を擁している。元来、塔頭は大寺院に従属したが、明治以後では独立した寺院として扱われることが多い。

［永井政之］

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