To Hattasan Sonei-ji: My commitment to the construction of Aizen-doI still remember the incredible goosebumps I got when I heard from Asuka Koumuten that I would be involved in constructing a new octagonal hall at Hattasan Sonei-ji. In this day and age, it is almost unheard of to be involved in constructing a new octagonal hall, let alone being involved in constructing one. It was indeed a dream come true. I had never done or even thought about building an octagonal hall before. I thought my heart would be filled with anxiety, but instead, I was so happy to be able to work on an octagonal hall that my heart was filled with joy.

First, to deepen my knowledge of octagonal halls, I visited the Hall of Dreams (Yumedono) at Hōryū-ji in Nara Prefecture with the master carpenter of Asuka Koumuten.

By looking at and thinking about the details from all angles, changing our perspective to consider “how it is finished” and “why it is finished in this way,” and repeating this process, we could see many things.

As I thought, it was important to see the real thing, and I learned a lot. I then put what I had learned to use in coming up with a concept, and began the process of drawing up plans for the roof tiles. I knew that the concept was different from that of squares and rectangles, but I struggled to work out how to develop it. As there was no one around who had any experience working on octagonal halls, and I had nowhere to turn for advice, I somehow managed to apply the concept of the hogyo-zukuri (宝形造) to develop it into the octagonal hall.

The completed drawings were a different world to the ones I had drawn up until now. I felt the difficulty of this project anew, thinking, “This is how it will fit together when it becomes an octagonal building.” By drawing the roof tiles in this way, you can see how the tiles will fit together, and from there you can see things like “Will it affect the leak?”, “How many levels will the ridge be?”, “How big should the ridge-end tile be?”, and “Will it fit well with the building?”. While I was drawing the plans, my heart was full of excitement, and my craftsman's spirit was driven.

With the size of the onigawara decided, it was time to place the order. The onigawara are designed to depict the face of a demon, and they are placed in eight directions. So the master carpenter of Asuka Koumuten, the onishi(鬼師) and I discussed what kind of effect we could create, and I proposed the expression of the demon that was adopted this time. Starting from the right side of the front, going clockwise, the order is: 1. Children (prosperity of descendants) ⇒ 2. Marriage (union of man and woman) ⇒ 3. Longevity (health and longevity) ⇒ 4. Increased wealth. The next two pieces, 5 and 6 (on the back), were made to reflect the image of the Phoenix (resurrection and revival) that is displayed behind the Aizen-Myō-ō. Next is 7. Anger ⇒ 8. Purification ⇒ and then back to 1. Children. In this way, I was able to express the way humans should be through the eight onigawara. The master carpenter and I were able to convey our thoughts to the onishi(鬼師), and I feel that the enthusiasm is expressed in the expressions of the onigawara, and it became a truly wonderful onigawara.

When the roof was completed, I was very impressed by the appearance of the roof. This was because I had spent many years discussing the roof with the master carpenter of Asuka Koumuten, calculating the dimensions and making adjustments to ensure that the kawara tiles fitted neatly into the roof, and now I was seeing the result of all that work. From there, the roofers took over from the carpenters.

Because the angles of the octagonal hall are so large, using standard Kawara tiles as they are could cause problems with leaks. We asked a craftsman in the tile manufacturer to make the honhiragawara tiles twice as long to prevent rainwater from entering the building. Many other parts of the octagonal hall also use custom-made tiles.

We are also very grateful to the kawara tile manufacturers who helped us to create these special tiles.

As I worked, I thought about the passion of the kawara tile makers, onishi (鬼師) and the master carpenters of , and the feelings of the people who offered the honhiragawara and onigawara tiles, and I wondered what kind of feelings they had as they looked up at the roof.

In the construction work, I drew on the experience I had gained up to that point and faced the octagonal hall. While proceeding with the work, I gave careful consideration to everything: the eaves line, the corners, the overhang, the angle of the onigawara, the position of the onigawara, the ridge line, the finish under the robanline, the overall finish, the balance, etc. I struggled and faced difficulties, but we did our best to complete the Aizen-do’s kawara tile work using the best techniques available at the time.

On the day all the kawara tiles were completed, laid on the roof, and the roban was placed on top, the feeling of accomplishment I felt when I saw the finished roof was indescribable. The project took a long time, and during that time I had a lot of trouble and a lot of fun, so I grew attached to it, and while I was happy that it was finished, I also felt very nostalgic that it was over. When I saw the scaffolding come down a few days later, the roof of the hall looked really magnificent. If I had to describe the feeling I had at that time, it was like seeing a cherished child grow up and become a fine young man, leaving the nest.

I became a kawara tile craftsman and was able to construct such a wonderful octagonal hall, an experience that I would not ordinarily have been able to have. It is a precious experience that I have been given. I feel that it is my new mission to pass on the skills I have acquired to future generations of kawara tile craftsmen.I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work on the octagonal hall, which is filled with the spirit of the artisans of this age.Thank you very much to the head priest and Asuka Koumuten for giving me the opportunity to work on this dream-like project.

Kawarasaki Kawara-ten, Taisuke Kawarasaki