Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Main hall is the
term used in English for the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple
compound (garan) which enshrines the main object of veneration. Because
the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single
English term translates several Japanese words, among them Butsuden,
Butsu-d¿, kon-d¿, konpon-ch¿d¿, and hon-d¿. Hon-d¿ is its exact Japanese
equivalent, while the others are more specialized words used by
particular sects or for edifices having a particular structure. The term
kon-d¿, literally "golden hall", started to be used during the Asuka and
Nara periods. A kon-d¿ is the centerpiece of an ancient Buddhist
temple's garan in Japan. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it may
derive from the perceived preciousness of its content, or from the fact
that the interior was lined with gold.
