Shinto architecture

Some examples of Shinto architecture

Shinto architecture is the architecture of Japanese Shinto shrines.
With a few exceptions like Ise Grand Shrine and Izumo Taisha, Shinto shrines before Buddhism were mostly temporary structures erected to a particular purpose. Buddhism brought to Japan the idea of permanent shrines and the presence of verandas, stone lanterns, and elaborate gates are some which are used both in a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple.
The composition of a Shinto shrine is extremely variable, and none of its possible features are necessarily present. Even the or sanctuary, the part which houses the and which is the centerpiece of a shrine, can be missing. However, since its grounds are sacred, they usually are surrounded by a fence made of stone or wood called, while access is made possible by an approach called. The entrances themselves are straddled by gates called, which are therefore the simplest way to identify a Shinto shrine.
A shrine may include within its grounds several structures, each destined to a different purpose. Among them are the or sanctuary, where the are enshrined, the, or hall of offerings, where offers and prayers are presented, and the or hall of worship, where there may be seats for worshipers. The honden is the building that contains the, literally, "the sacred body of the ". Of these, only the is open to the laity. The is located behind the and is usually much smaller and unadorned. Other notable shrine features are the [Chōzuya|], the fountain where visitors cleanse their hands and mouth and the, the office that supervises the shrine. Shrines can be very large, as for example Ise Shrine, or as small as a beehive, as in the case of the, small shrines frequently found on road sides.
Before the forced separation of Shinto and Buddhism, it was not uncommon for a Buddhist temple to be built inside or next to a shrine or to the contrary for a shrine to include Buddhist subtemples. If a shrine was also a Buddhist temple, it was called a. At the same time, temples in the entire country adopted tutelary ordered by the new government in the Meiji period, the connection between the two religions was officially severed, but continued nonetheless in practice.

The origin of shrines

The practice of marking sacred areas began in Japan as early as the Yayoi period originating from primal Shinto tenets. Features in the landscape such as rocks, waterfalls, islands, and especially mountains, were places believed to be capable of attracting, and subsequently were worshiped as. Originally, sacred places may have been simply marked with a surrounding fence and an entrance gate or. Later, temporary buildings similar to present day portable shrines were constructed to welcome the gods to the sacred place. Over time the temporary structures evolved into permanent structures that were dedicated to the gods. Ancient shrines were constructed according to the style of dwellings or storehouses. The buildings had gabled roofs, raised floors, plank walls, and were thatched with reed or covered with hinoki cypress bark. Such early shrines did not include a space for worship. Three important forms of ancient shrine architectural styles exist:,, and. They are exemplified by Izumo Taisha, Nishina Shinmei Shrine and Sumiyoshi Taisha respectively and date to before 552. According to the tradition of, the buildings or shrines were faithfully rebuilt at regular intervals adhering to the original design. In this manner, ancient styles have been replicated through the centuries to the present day.

Common features

The following is a diagram illustrating the most important elements of a Shinto shrine:

– Shinto gate
Stone stairs
– the approach to the shrine
or – fountain to cleanse one's hands and face
– decorative stone lanterns
– building dedicated to or the sacred dance
– the shrine's administrative office
[Ema (Shintō)|] – wooden plaques bearing prayers or wishes
/ – small auxiliary shrines
– the so-called "lion dogs", guardians of the shrine
– oratory
– fence surrounding the
– main hall, enshrining the.
On the roof of the and are visible and, both common shrine ornamentations.

Gate ()

The is a gate which marks the entrance to a sacred area, usually but not necessarily a shrine. A shrine may have any number of made of wood, stone, metal, concrete or any other material. They can be found in different places within a shrine's precincts to signify an increased level of holiness.
can often be found also at Buddhist temples, however they are an accepted symbol of Shinto, and as such are used to mark shrines on maps.
The origin of the is unclear, and no existing theory has been accepted as valid. They may for example have originated in India as a derivative of the gates in the monastery of Sanchi, which is located in central India.

Pathway ()

The is the road approaching either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple. Its point of origin is usually straddled in the first case by a Shinto, in the second by a Buddhist, gates which mark the beginning of the shrine's or temple territory. There can also be stone lanterns and other decorations at any point along its course. There can be more than one, in which case the main one is called, or front,, or rear, etc.

Fountain ()

Before entering the shrine, visitors are supposed to wash their hands and mouths at a fountain built to the purpose called or.

Guardian lion-dogs ()

The two "lions" in front of a shrine are in effect warden dogs called. They were so called because they were thought to have been brought to Japan from China via Korea, and their name derives from, the Japanese term for the Korean kingdom of Koguryo. They are almost identical, but one has the mouth open, the other closed. This is a very common pattern in statue pairs at both temples and shrines, and has an important symbolic meaning. The open mouth is pronouncing the first letter of the sanskrit alphabet, the closed one the last, representing the beginning and the end of all things. The one with the open mouth is called, the other, a name that in time came to be used for both animals.

Worship hall ()

The is the hall of worship or oratory of the shrine. It is generally placed in front of the shrine's main sanctuary and often built on a larger scale than the latter. The is often connected to the by a, or hall of offerings. While the is the place for the enshrined and off-limits to the general public, the provides a space for ceremonies and for worshiping the.

Offertory hall ()

The is the part of a shrine used to house offerings, and normally consists of a section linking the and the . It can also be called or in other ways, and its position can sometimes vary. In spite of its name, nowadays it is used mostly for rituals.

Sanctuary ()

The, also called is the most sacred building of a shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined. The, in itself incorporeal, is represented physically by a go-shintai, such as a mirror or a statue. The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public.

Other elements

A or is a very small Shinto shrine either found on the precincts of a larger shrine and dedicated to folk, or on a street side, enshrining not under the jurisdiction of any large shrine., minor protecting travelers from evil spirits, may for example be enshrined in a.

and, also called are small or miniature shrines having a deep historical relationship with a more important shrine or with the it enshrines, and fall under that shrine's jurisdiction. The two terms used to have different meanings, but must be today considered synonyms. For this reason, this kind of shrine is now sometimes called.

Most common shrine styles

Shrine buildings can have many different basic layouts, usually named either after a famous shrine's, or a structural characteristic
The 's roof is always gabled, and some styles also have a veranda-like aisle called .
Among the factors involved in the classification, important are the presence or absence of:

or – a style of construction in which the building has its main entrance on the side which runs parallel to the roof's ridge. The,,, and belong to this type.
or – a style of construction in which the building has its main entrance on the side which runs perpendicular to the roof's ridge. The,, and belong to this type.

Proportions are also important. A building of a given style often must have certain proportions measured in .
The oldest styles are the,, and, believed to predate the arrival of Buddhism.
The two most common are the and the . Larger, more important shrines tend to have unique styles.

The or is a style characterized by a very asymmetrical gabled roof projecting outwards on the non-gabled side, above the main entrance, to form a portico. This is the feature which gives the style its name, the most common among shrines all over the country.
Sometimes the basic layout consisting of an elevated core partially surrounded by a veranda called is modified by the addition of a room in front of the entrance. The varies in roof ridge length from 1 to 11, but is never 6 or 8. The most common sizes are 1 and 3. The oldest shrine in Japan, Uji's Ujigami Shrine, has a of this type. Its external dimensions are 5x3, but internally it is composed of three sanctuaries measuring 1 each.

as a style takes its name from Kasuga Taisha's. It is characterized by the extreme smallness of the building, just 11 in size. In Kasuga Taisha's case, this translates in 1.9 m 2.6 m. The roof is gabled with a single entrance at the gabled end, decorated with and, covered with cypress bark and curved upwards at the eaves. Supporting structures are painted vermillion, while the plank walls are white.
After the, this is the most common style, with most instances in the Kansai region around Nara.

Other styles

Follows a list of other styles. Many are rare, some unique. Most deal with the structure of a single building but others, for example the style, define instead the relationship between member structures. In that case, the same building can fall under two separate classifications. For example, the and at Ōsaki Hachimangū are single-storied, edifices. Because they are connected by a passage called and are covered by a single roof, however, the complex is classified as belonging to the style.

The name comes from Nikkō Tōshō-gū in Nikkō because it enshrines the Tōshō Daigongen.

is a style used at Hachiman shrines in which two parallel structures with gabled roofs are interconnected on the non-gabled side, forming one building which, when seen from the side, gives the impression of two. The front structure is called, the rear one, and together they form the. There are entrances at the center of the non-gabled side. In general, the rear structure is 32, while the front one is 31.
The space between the two structures is one wide and forms a room called. The actual width and height of this room vary with the shrine.
Extant examples are Usa Shrine and Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū. This style, of which only five Edo period examples survive, may be of Buddhist origin, since some Buddhist buildings show the same division. For example, Tōdai-ji's is divided in two sections laid out front and back. Structural details also show a strong relationship with the Heian period style called used in aristocratic residences. Another possible origin of this style may have been early palaces, known to have had parallel ridges on the roof.

, also called or is a rare style presently found in only three instances, all at Hiyoshi Taisha in Ōtsu, Shiga. They are the East and West Honden Hon-gū and the Sessha Usa Jingū Honden.
The building is composed of a 3x2 ken core called moya surrounded on three sides by a 1-ken wide hisashi, totaling 5x3 ken. The three-sided hisashi is unique and typical of this style. The gabled roof extends in small porticos on the front and the two gabled sides. The roof on the back has a peculiar and characteristic shape.

''Irimoya-zukuri''

is a honden style having a hip-and-gable structure, that is, a gabled roof with one or two hips, and is used for example in Kitano Tenman-gū's honden. The style is of Chinese origin and arrived in Japan together with Buddhism in the 6th century. It was originally used in the Kon-dō and Kō-dō of Buddhist temples, but started to be used also in shrines later, during the Japanese Middle Ages.
The name derives from its hip and gable roof. In Japan the gable is right above the edge of the shrine's moya, while the hip covers the hisashi. In lay architecture it is often called just moya-zukuri. Extant examples are Mikami Shrine in Shiga prefecture and Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto.

''Ishi-no-ma-zukuri''

, also called, yatsumune-zukuri and is the name of a complex shrine structure in which the haiden, or worship hall, and the honden, or main sanctuary, are interconnected under the same roof in the shape of an H.
The connecting passage can be called,, or. The floor of each of the three halls can be at a different level. If the ai-no-ma is paved with stones it is called ishi-no-ma, whence the name of the style. It can, however, be paved with planks or tatami. Its width is often the same as the honden's, with the haiden from one to three ken wider.
One of the oldest examples is Kitano Tenman-gū in Kyoto. The gongen-zukuri name comes from Nikkō Tōshō-gū in Nikkō, which enshrines the Tōshō Daigongen and adopts this structure.

''Kibitsu-zukuri''

, or is a style characterized by four dormer gables, two per lateral side, on the roof of a very large honden. The gables are set at a right angle to the main roof ridge, and the honden is part of a single complex also including a haiden. Kibitsu Shrine in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan is the sole example of this style.

''Misedana-zukuri''

Misedana-zukuri owes its name to the fact that, unlike the other shrine styles, it does not feature a stairway at the entrance, and the veranda is completely flat. It is normally used only in sessha and massha, tiny, 1 ken shrines sometimes found on the premises of larger ones. They can however be as small as beehives or relatively large and have 1x2, 1x3 or even, in one case, 1x7 bays. Apart from the lack of a staircase, such shrines belong to the nagare-zukuri or kasuga-zukuri styles and have their entrance on the non-gabled or gabled side.

''Ōtori-zukuri''

The is a tsumairi style named after Ōtori taisha in Ōsaka. Its floor is elevated and 2x2 ken in size, without a veranda or railings. This style seems to have the same origins as the ancient sumiyoshi- and taisha-zukuri styles, which it resembles, and the absence of a veranda may be due to the use in origin of an earthen floor, still in use in some shrines. The interior is divided in two, naijin and gejin. The roof is covered with layers of cypress bark shingles and has a high ridge with an ornamental rather than functional role. It does not curve upwards at the eaves and the bargeboards are simple and straight. Chigi and three katsuogi are present.

''Owari-zukuri''

is a complex style found in large shrines of what used to be called Owari province, near Nagoya. It features many structures within the same compound, among them a honden, a haiden, a tsuriwata-rō, a yotsuashimon, and other buildings. Extant examples of this style include Owari Ōkunitama Shrine and Tsushima Shrine.

Primitive shrine layout without ''honden''

This style is rare, but historically important. It is also unique in that the honden, normally the very center of a shrine, is missing. It is believed shrines of this type are reminiscent of what shrines were like in prehistorical times. The first shrines had no honden because the shintai, or object of worship, was the mountain on which they stood. An extant example is Nara's Ōmiwa Shrine, which still has no honden. An area near the haiden, sacred and taboo, replaces it for worship. Another prominent example of this style is Futarasan Shrine near Nikkō, whose shintai is Mount Nantai. For details, see Birth and evolution of Shinto shrines above.

''Ryōnagare-zukuri''

is an evolution of the nagare-zukuri in which the roof flows down to form a portico on both non-gabled sides. Examples are the honden at Itsukushima Shrine and at Matsuo Taisha.

''Shinmei-zukuri''

Shinmei-zukuri is an ancient style typical of, and most common at Ise Grand Shrine, the holiest of Shinto shrines. It is most common in Mie prefecture. Characterized by an extreme simplicity, its basic features can be seen in Japanese architecture from the Kofun period onwards and it is considered the pinnacle of Japanese traditional architecture. Built in planed, unfinished wood, the honden is either 3x2 ken or 1x1ken in size, has a raised floor, a gabled roof with an entry on one the non-gabled sides, no upward curve at the eaves, and decorative logs called chigi and katsuogi protruding from the roof's ridge. The oldest extant example is Nishina Shinmei Shrine, the shrine which gives the style its name.

''Sumiyoshi-zukuri''

takes its name from Sumiyoshi-taisha's honden in Ōsaka. The building is 4 ken wide and 2 ken deep, and has an entrance under the gable. Its interior is divided in two sections, one at the front and one at the back with a single entrance at the front. Construction is simple, but the pillars are painted in vermilion and the walls in white.
The style is supposed to have its origin in old palace architecture Another example of this style is Sumiyoshi Jinja, part of the Sumiyoshi Sanjin complex in Fukuoka Prefecture. In both cases, as in many others, there is no veranda.

''Taisha-zukuri''

Taisha-zukuri or Ōyashiro-zukuri is the oldest shrine style, takes its name from Izumo Taisha and, like Ise Grand Shrine's, has chigi and katsuogi, plus archaic features like gable-end pillars and a single central pillar. Because its floor is raised on stilts, it is believed to have its origin in raised-floor granaries similar to those found in Toro, Shizuoka prefecture.
The honden normally has a 2x2 ken footprint, with an entrance on the gabled end. The stairs to the honden are covered by a cypress bark roof. The oldest extant example of the style is Kamosu Jinja's honden in Shimane Prefecture, built in the 16th century.