shōrō 鐘楼

Also called shūrō; kanetsukidō 鐘突堂, lit. "bell hitting hall"; and tsuriganedō 釣鐘堂, belfry. A building in which a bell bonshō 梵鐘 is hung. The early belfries in the Nara period were double-storied 3 x 2 bay structures and the bell was suspended in the upper story. The building was like those used as sutra repositories *kyōzō 経蔵 and similar to the ancient drum towers *korō 鼓楼 sometimes used for storing sutras at Buddhist temples. Usually two such buildings were positioned in front to the left and right of the lecture hall *kōdō 講堂. Example: Hōryūji Sai-in Shōrō 法隆寺西院鐘楼 (late 10th-early 11th century), which was identical to a sutra repository constructed in the Nara period. 

Toward the late Heian period, a new style of belfry was built and called *hakamagoshi 袴腰, two-storied with an enclosed substructure curving out at the base to create a trapezoidal-like shape with a single narrow door on one side. The bell was suspended in the upper part which was, in some examples, quite open in contrast to the usual style, enclosed by windows filled with vertical lath *renjimado 連子窓; example: Hōryūji Tōin 法隆寺東院 (Kamakura period), the oldest extant belfry in the hakamagoshi style. 

At the beginning of the 13th century, a new type of belfry was constructed at Tōdaiji 東大寺 in Nara, under the direction of the Buddhist priest Yōsai 栄西 (1141-1215). The building was completely open; the stout pillars were reinforced by studs placed at the corners, and all other structural members were visible. The huge bell was hung from the central transverse beam and the striking pole was within reach the ground floor at the single-storied building. This open-type belfry, usually with four main pillars *hashira 柱 stabilized by penetrating tie beams *nuki 貫, became very popular. Many of the corner pillars were set with an inward incline *uchikorobi 内転. Example: Rinnōji Jigendō Shōrō 輪王寺慈眼堂鐘楼 (1642), Tochigi Prefecture. After the advent of the Heian period, the location of the shōrō was not strictly prescribed. Roof types were generally gabled *kirizuma-zukuri 切妻造 or hip-and-gable *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造.