KYOTO--Shortly before 7 a.m. one day in early fall, guests gathered in the first-floor lobby of the new Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Kawaramachi Jokyoji, as the smell of burning incense lingered in the air.

The Jokyoji temple’s main hall, gorgeously lit with traditional “toro” lanterns, lies just beyond a glass window. This is not your ordinary hotel.

Not long ago, this centuries-old temple, resting serenely in Japan’s ancient capital, was showing its age.

Its devotees have been growing older and dwindling in number--the same story playing out at other temples across Japan, leaving many in rough financial and physical shape.

The roof of the old main hall was leaking badly and likely could not withstand a strong earthquake.

But it is now turning its troubles around by accepting overnight guests alongside the usual sightseers and worshippers who grace its grounds. 

Dating to the Heian Period (794-1185), the timeworn temple reopened in September as a hotel complex.

And it thinks others can follow in its footsteps.

As many Buddhist temples across Japan find it increasingly difficult to maintain their aging buildings amid the winds of change, this one hopes to serve as a blueprint for how ailing urban monasteries can survive.

“We hope to serve as a role model for the revival of temples, as many of them are forced to close for good due to few successors and visitors,” said a representative of the hotel operator Mitsui Fudosan Co.

PRESERVING HISTORY

Jokyoji is said to have started out as a “torodo” hall, which was commissioned in the 1170s by Taira no Shigemori (1138-1179), the first son of warlord Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181).

The makeover has helped preserve parts of its history and design that otherwise might have been lost.

Its main hall, originally constructed some 200 years ago, was combined with the lodging instead of simply being replaced, turning it into the nine-story hotel with an area of 6,900 square meters.

The builders reused the “kibana” ornamented beam and other aged wooden parts as interior fittings--parts that would otherwise have been discarded.

They also added a large common bathroom and a restaurant on the second floor. The building has a total of 167 guest rooms from the second through the ninth floor. After-tax charges per room start from around 10,000 yen ($94.70).

The temple and hotel are both part of the same building. It is about a 20-step walk from the lobby to another entrance to get to the Jodo sect temple, which has a much more solemn ambience.

WORSHIPPERS WELCOME THE CHANGE

Koki Mitsuyama, 50, chief priest of Jokyoji, chanted a prayer for the morning service. His voice resonated in the space. Twenty visitors paid their respects to Amitabha, the main object of worship at Jokyoji.

During his college days, Mitsuyama studied Buddhism to become a monk, and then took a job at a bank.

Around five years ago, his father’s cousin, the chief priest at the time, asked him to take over running the temple. That was when Mitsuyama learned of all the problems it faced.

But after he pondered them for some time, he had an eureka moment: Why not convert the temple into a hotel and take advantage of its prime downtown location, located near the renowned Shijodori boulevard?

At the time, accommodation facilities in Kyoto were in short supply because of an influx of overseas tourists.

Mitsuyama contacted a former college superior, who is now an official of a Mitsui-affiliated financial institution, to discuss his idea.

It resulted in Mitsui Fudosan’s decision to work with him. Mitsuyama quit his bank job to become Jokyoji’s chief priest.

He announced the project four years ago to 110 households of local worshippers.

He said they must have been “really astonished.” But no one voiced opposition.

Mitsuyama did not ask them to bear any financial burden, and he carefully explained the construction progress.

The renovations have allowed visitors to enter the main hall without taking their shoes off. Elderly worshippers seemed to welcome that change, Mitsuyama said.

“Old temples in urban areas, not only in Kyoto but also Tokyo, are troubled by the same issue as my temple,” Mitsuyama said. “If chief priests of those establishments want to follow suit, I will be willing to offer support for them.”

A GROWING TREND

Jokyoji is not alone in seeking a new revenue source.

More than 10 religious corporations now offer accommodations as registered inn managers in Kyoto alone.

The 17-story Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu meanwhile started up operations last fall in Osaka at Nanbabetsuin, a temple belonging to the Otani school of the Shinshu sect of Buddhism.

But Jokyoji is still a rare sight because the temple and hotel share the same building, according to Mitsui Fudosan representatives.

The land and building are both owned by Jokyoji, while the hotel operator rents the accommodations from the temple.

One remaining problem still to be worked out, though, is dealing with the tax code. Operating accommodation facilities is considered a separate undertaking from religious activities under the tax laws, while the grounds and buildings intended for ritual services are exempt from real estate tax.

“We (generally) separate areas for the religious facility and hotel in order to collect real estate tax on the land and building for the hotel portion,” said an official of Kyoto city’s taxation department.

TOUGH TIMES FOR TEMPLES

According to statistics from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, there were 76,900 Buddhist temples as of the end of 2018, down 540 from a decade earlier. Many more closures would not come as a surprise given the trend.

Takashi Waguri is the head of the planning division of the Japan temple and shrine tourism association, which manages a Web site called Terahaku, designed to encourage sightseers to visit and stay in temples.

“Fewer people now visit and rely on religious bodies, so there are big hurdles to raising funds for maintaining aged facilities, enhancing buildings’ earthquake resistance, and mending and repairing main halls,” Waguri explained.

But now the “terahaku” accommodation packages provided by temples are drawing attention.

After learning that old castles renovated into hotels have proven popular in Europe, the Japan Tourism Agency called on temple operators to offer accommodations so that guests can experience the traditional culture of the country up close.

Some temples have remodeled abandoned homes previously occupied by worshippers, as well as nearby unused temple buildings.

Amid the terahaku boom, Jokyoji said it has received many requests for advice from officials from other temples, who wish to observe its hotel business.

It was approached about that even before the Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Kawaramachi Jokyoji had officially opened.