A fine early Taisho-era brick building close to the Omiya campus of Ryukoku University and the Higurashi-mon Gate of Nishi-Honanji Temple is the Honganji Dendo-in.
The Dendo-in was designed by famous architect Ito Chuta (1867–1954), a professor of architecture at Tokyo Imperial University and later Waseda, and is a Kyoto City Designated Cultural Asset.
The Dendo-in was originally an office for the Shinshu Shinto Life Insurance company associated with the Hongwanji sect but is now a free museum and exhibition space.
The architecture combines western and eastern styles and has some interesting mythical animals done in stone and added to the exterior granite pillars as exotic motifs. The building is used for exhibitions and occasionally seminars.
Ito Chuta's other works include Tsukiji Honganji Temple near Tsukiji Fish market in Tokyo, the Kanematsu Auditorium at Hitotsubashi Uuniversity, the Yushukan Museum at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo and the Gion Kaku on the grounds of Daiun-in Temple in the Higashiyama area of Kyoto.
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