sanrō 山廊

Also kirō 機廊. Small, single-storied, detached buildings on temple grounds constructed on each side of a two-storied gate *nijūmon 二重門. Sanrō are most commonly found on either side of the large main gates *sanmon 三門 at Zen sect, zenshū 禅宗, temples. Generally enclosed, they are entrances to stairways leading to the second story of the gate. Most have extended roofs over the stairways, or the stairways are positioned so that the overhang of the gate's roof protects them. Usually sanrō have gable roofs *kirizuma-zukuri 切妻造. The earliest extant sanrō is part of the Tōfukuji Sanmon 東福寺三門 (1428) in Kyoto. The sanrō at Tōfukuji are 2 × 2 bays, and have gable roofs, covered with tile *hongawarabuki 本瓦葺, matching the roof of the large 5 × 2-bay (25.88 m × 10.35 m) gate. They are partially walled, from the ground level to less than half the height of the posts that support the roof. The stairs are protected not only by the roof of the sanrō but also by the deep overhang of the first story roof. Two examples of sanmon with sanrō can be found at Manpukuji 萬福寺 (1678) in Kyoto, which has a 3 × 2-bay (17.68 m × 9.61 m), sanmon with a 2 × 2-bay sanrō, and at Tōkōji 東光寺 (1811) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which has a 3 × 2 bay (11.50 m × 6.60 m) sanrō.