[Fukushima] Do you not go through the same place from the time you enter until the time you leave? Let's experience the mysterious building Sazaedo!

Do you know “Sazaedo”?

It's not a seafood izakaya. It is a common name for three-story Buddhist temples with special architecture that were built in several locations from Kanto to Tohoku during the Edo period.

The first Sazaedo in Japan is said to have been built in 1780 at Rakanji Temple in Edo Honjo.
The Sazaedo Hall of Rakanji Temple astounded the people of the time and quickly became a big hit. It is said to have become a famous place of Edo that is included in the Illustrated Guide to Famous Places. Since then, several Sazaedo temples have been erected in various locations, but only a few remain to this day in their original appearance. One of them is Aizu Sazaedo in Aizu City, Fukushima Prefecture.

Experience a mysterious space halfway up Mt. Iimori, which is associated with the Byakkotai!

Aizu Sazaedo was built in 1796. The official name is Entsusan Sodo, and it is a hexagonal temple with a height of 16.5 meters.

As soon as you enter from the front entrance of Karahafu-zukuri, there is a slope.
At the time of its construction, the 33 Kannon statues of Saigoku were enshrined along this slope, and visitors could complete a tour of the 33 Kannons just by visiting this one temple. It was a convenient mechanism. Nowadays, instead of a statue of Kannon, a picture frame depicting the ``24 filial piety of the imperial dynasty'' is displayed, but you can still tour the hall by going up and down the slope.

You may not think it is particularly strange after hearing this, but in fact, inside Sazaedo, the up and down slopes are completely separate, making it a one-way street.
Although the space is not very large, it is designed so that worshipers do not pass each other. This is Sazaedo's "double helix structure" slope. It is a rare building in the world, and was designated as a national important cultural property in 1995.

When you actually go up the slope, you can hear the voice of someone who seems to be coming down from the top, but you can't see them. It's a very strange feeling.

This special spiral structure looks like the inside of a conch shell, which is why it came to be called ``Sazaedo.''

The intricate and elaborate structure was designed by that genius artist! ?

In fact, there is a building in France that uses a double helix structure similar to Aizu Sazaedo.
Chateau de Chambord in the Loire region was built between 1519 and 1547. It is also thought that Leonardo da Vinci may have designed the double spiral staircase of this famous castle, which is also registered as a World Heritage Site.

The unique design of Chambord Castle must have been famous in Europe at the time, and there is also a theory that it was transmitted to Aizu in some form, such as when a book about Chambord Castle was brought to Japan. Apparently there is!
Although there is no proof, don't you think it would be wonderful to think about the grand romance of the Renaissance master Da Vinci's creativity, which is still vividly alive in Aizu?

INFORMATION