Lit. large lecture hall. The lecture hall at Hōryūji 法隆寺 in Nara is the most famous and oldest extant daikōdō. The original hall was destroyed by fire in 925 and reconstruction was completed by 990. It was rebuilt on the same site with the same dimensions, but was only 8-bays in length until the medieval period, when aisles *hisashi 廂, were added to the west side making it 9 × 4 bays (33.78 × 13.52 m). The original plan of the 10th-century rebuilding increased the width of the aisles surrounding the core *moya 母屋, thereby reducing the size of the moya. The earliest known use of a hidden roof *noyane 野屋根, first placed only over the hisashi, was discovered during dismantling repairs in the 1930s. The incline of the base rafters *jidaruki 地垂木, became less steep, thus permitting more light and air beneath the eaves while the pitch of the hidden rafters *nodaruki 野垂木, over the hisashi were made with a stronger incline to allow a fast run-off of rain. The Daikōdō at Hōryūji is behind the main hall *Kondō 金堂 and five-storied pagoda *Gojū-no-tō 五重塔. The roofed, semi-enclosed corridor *Kairō 回廊, turns inward at the rear on each side. The sutra repository *Kyōzō 経蔵 and the belfry *Shōrō 鐘楼, are contained within the continuing corridor which makes a 90 turn and is extended so that it reaches each side of the daikōdō. Originally the corridor continued straight across the rear where it now turns inward. The daikaodō, kyōzō, and shōrō were all outside, and north of the main enclosure. Another example is the Enkyōji 円教寺 Daikōdō (1440), in Hyōgo Prefecture. It has a very different style from the Hōryūji Daikōdō or any typical lecture hall *Kōdō 講堂. It is two-storied, and is 7 × 6 bays (19.92 × 16.73 m). The bracket complexes used in both stories are two-stepped *futatesakigumi 二手先組, and the interstices between them have struts with bearing blocks *kentozuka 間斗束. The eaves are doubled on each story and the rafters are closely spaced *shigedaruki 繁垂木. The tiled roof is of the hip-and-gable type *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造. The interior is like those used by Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教, with a two-bay deep space for worshippers *raidō 礼堂, and a four-bay deep space closed off by sliding doors. The core is 5 × 2 bays but the actual sanctuary *naijin 内陣, is 3 × 2 bays with 1/4-size tiles spread over an earthen floor. The remaining area is covered with plank flooring. There is also a distinctive bracken wall behind the altar *shumidan 須弥壇.
