naidō 内堂

Buddhist priests' living quarters. Higher-ranking priests had two rooms one behind the other. The inner room was called the naidō, and the outer room, the *gedō 外堂. Example: Gangōji 元興寺, monk's living quarters *sōbō 僧房 (Kamakura period), Nara. Although no exact date is known, the naidō became a building for training priests and the gedō a building used for administrative business and for housing guest priests.