Lit. central hall. A hall situated between two Buddhist halls or a hall with corridors attached on either side. The most well known is the chūdō at Byōdōin *Hōōdō 平等院鳳凰堂 (1053) in Kyoto. It is the focal point of the temple as it exists today and has wing corridors *yokurō 翼廊, on each side creating a perfect balance of parts.
First built as a villa by Fujiwara Yorimichi 藤原頼道 (992-1074) and then converted into a hall 5 × 4 bays, 14.2 × 11.82 cm to enshrine an exceedingly large 4.83 m seated statue of *Amida 阿弥陀, carved by Jōchō 定朝 (? -1057). The slender posts that surround the exterior are square and support the pent roof *mokoshi 裳階 at the front and sides. There are no walls between them. The enclosed space is three bays wide and two deep. Very tall, thick pillars are placed at the front corners. Two more pillars are places at the front in line with the corner pillars, and there are two on each side and two at the back of the podium on which the Amida statue is placed. The pillars at the rear corners and in between are tall but small in diameter. The chūdō is only one-story. The hidden roof *noyane 野屋根, and cantilevers *hanegi 桔木, were added at a later time. The tiled roof *hongawarabuki 本瓦葺 is of the hip-and-gable style *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造.
Two chūdō that follow a plan, in which the worship area *raidō 礼堂 and sanctuary *naijin 内陣 are clearly separated, are exemplified by the *Konpon chūdō 根本中堂 at Enryakuji 延暦寺 (1640) in Shiga Prefecture and the Chūdō at Risshakuji 立石寺 (1356) in Yamagata Prefecture, popularly called Yamadera 山寺. The Yamadera Chūdō, 5 x 5 bays 16.97 x 12.25m, is typical of main halls at esoteric temples, in the northeastern part of Honshū 本州. Simple 3-on-1 bracket complexes *demitsudo 出三斗, at right angles, to each other, capped bearing blocks *kentozuka 間斗束, double eaves *futanoki 二軒, and closely spaced rafters *shigedaruki 繁垂木, all denote the Japanese style of architecture *wayō 和様. The roofing was changed, during a renovation in 1962 to copper sheets laid over a wood base to simulate finely layered shingles *kokerabuki 柿葺. The roof is hip and gable *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造, with diagonal braces *sasu 扠首, in the gable pediment. The roof retains its original shape.
Chūdō found at temples belonging to the Tendai 天台 sect, enshrine the main Buddhist image revered by the temple. Its role is comparable to the main hall *hondō 本堂 or *kondō 金堂 at some Tendai sect temples, and these terms may be used instead of chūdō.