Seiraian
Seiraian is a sub-temple dedicated to the founding abbot of Kenchoji Temple, Lanxi Daolong (1213–1278). It doubles as a Zen training monastery where novice monks live and study, and is strictly off-limits to the public.
Beyond this gate are the monastery’s main hall (hondo), dining hall (jikido), Zen meditation hall (zendo), and founder’s hall (kaisando) where Daolong is enshrined.
The monks’ training takes at least three and a half years to complete. It includes studying Zen texts, practicing meditation, and keeping to a strict diet of rice, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. The meditation hall is used for sleeping as well as for seated meditation, and each monk is allotted a single tatami mat.