sōbō 僧房

Also written 僧坊. Buddhist priests', monks' or nuns' living quarters in the 7th-8th century. One of the seven buildings required in a temple complex in that era. The word sōbō could refer to the entire building or to an individual room. The exact configurations of monks' quarters in the ancient period was unclear until the *Higashimuro 東室 and *Tsumamuro 妻室 at Hōryūji 法隆寺, and the Gokurakubō 極楽坊 at Gangōji 元興寺, both in Nara, underwent excavation, dismantling, and repair in 1945. The results of these undertakings revealed the dormitories to be located on three sides of the grounds and known as the north, east and west dormitories kitamuro 北室, higashimuro 東室, and *nishimuro 西室 respectively. But not all temples followed this plan. At Tōshōdaiji 唐招提寺 dormitories were only to the east and west of the *Kōdō 講堂. At kokubunji 国分寺, the provincial temples that were established by an imperial edict in 741, living quarters were built north of the other temple halls. Kitamuro were common and limited to ten rooms. The number of monks were few compared to those attached to the large, thriving temples in Nara. 

The only extant sōbō are the Higashimuro and the Tsumamuro at Hōryūji. The former is a large structure 6.7 m across and 12.17 m lengthwise. With the introduction of the new esoteric sects of Tendai 天台 and Shingon 真言 in the 9th century, the priests' dormitories were remodeled to allow them in part to become Buddhist halls *butsuden 仏殿. A good example is Gangōji Gokurakubō, remodeled in the Kamakura period. Subsidiary temples *shi-in 子院, became common and were built in the hills surrounding the new capital, Heian-kyō 平安京. Thus, it became impractical to construct dormitories on a rigid plan. When, in the 12th century, the Zen 禅 sect was introduced, buildings that not only housed the monks but also included the refectory became common. These were called *sōdō 僧堂.