Helix maze built at a now-lost Japanese temple is a stunning architectural marvel.

On Mount Iimori in Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, you’ll find an incredibly rare and mysterious wooden structure called Aizu Sazaedo, which also goes by the official name of Entsu Sansodo. This is the only double-helix wooden structure in the world, as different passages exist within the building for ascending and descending, and it’s designed in such a way that the path from the entrance to the exit isn’t the same, so those who visit to pray won’t encounter anyone leaving inside.

Built in 1796, when the site was home to a temple called Shosoji, Aizu Sazaedo gets its name from the fact that it’s located in Aizu, and is shaped like a sazae, or “turban shell“. With “do” meaning “hall” or “temple”, Aizu Sazaedo translates as “Aizu Turban Shell Hall“, and not only is it stunning to look at from the outside, with its diagonally sloping layers, it’s even more incredible inside.

▼ This 16.5-metre (54.1-foot) tall building is said to have been created by Ikudo, the head priest of Shosoji.

Three dragons are wrapped around the entrance to the building, which was designated as a national important cultural property in 1996.

Admission is priced at 400 yen (US$2.80) for adults, 300 yen for high school and university students, and 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students.

When you enter the hall, it really feels as if you’re entering a turban shell, with only one direction available, up the spiral slope on the left, past the figure of Ikudo.

This passage spirals clockwise around the building, and as you can see, there are no stairs — simply a slope lined with non-slip slats to give you steady footing on the ascent.

In the past, the 33 Saigoku Kannon were enshrined along the unique double-helix slope, so that by visiting this hall, worshippers could gain the same spiritual blessings as visiting the 33 Buddhist temples along the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage in the Kansai region of Japan. It’s believed that pilgrims who collect treasure seals from all 33 temples along the 1,000-kilometre-plus-long (621-mile-plus long) pilgrimage will be able to travel to the Pure Land of Paradise.

▼ While the Kannons no longer remain, the building retains its otherworldly atmosphere so journeying up the slope feels like a spiritual experience.

In place of the 33 Kannon statues, there is now a framed picture of Japan’s 24 Paragons of Filial Piety, an account of moral exemplars that helped to inform the morals of the Aizu clan.

After one-and-a-half rotations, you reach the top of the building, which has a stunning hexagonal ceiling covered in senjafuda and an arched bridge known as a “Drum Bridge”.

Senjafuda are votive stickers that bear the name of the person who owns them, so worshippers have long been using them as a way to leave their mark on temples and shrines. The senjafuda here range from the very new to the very old, and once you’ve made yourself dizzy looking at them, it’s time to head over to the downward slope.

The way the passageways sit inside building is hard to visualise when you’re inside, but essentially the upward ceilings also act as the downward floors. It’s easier to understand if you liken it to the look of a DNA molecule, which also displays a double-stranded helix structure.

The descent is also one-and-a-half rotations, creating a total of three rotations, which is why this structure is officially known as “Entsu Sansodo”, which translates as “Three Round Turns Hall”.

Buddhists commonly circle around a sacred idol or object three times to show devotion, so everyone who visits can take part in this act of circumambulation.

The slope continues in a one-way direction until you reach the rear exit, where you’re likely to step out into the world with a renewed sense of awe at the amazing ingenuity of the unique structure. It’s a breathtaking site that will leave a profound impression on everyone who visits, and it’s not far from the Weakling Gundam and Japan’s UFO Village, two more modern-day marvels.

Site information
Aizu Sazaedo / 会津さざえ堂
Address: Fukushima-ken, Aizuwakamatsu, Ikki-cho, Yahata Takizawa 155
福島県会津若松市一箕町八幡滝沢１５５
Hours: 8:15 a.m.-sunset (April-November); 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (December-March)
Website

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