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Shinto architecture is the architecture ofJapaneseShinto shrines.
With a few exceptions likeIse Grand Shrine andIzumo 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 thehonden or sanctuary, the part which houses thekami 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 calledtamagaki, while access is made possible by an approach calledsandō. The entrances themselves are straddled by gates calledtorii, 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.[1] Among them are thehonden or sanctuary, where thekami are enshrined, theheiden, or hall of offerings, where offers and prayers are presented, and thehaiden or hall of worship, where there may be seats for worshipers.[1] Thehonden is the building that contains theshintai, literally, "the sacred body of thekami". Of these, only thehaiden is open to thelaity. Thehonden is located behind thehaiden and is usually much smaller and unadorned. Other notable shrine features are thetemizuya, the fountain where visitors cleanse their hands and mouth and theshamusho (社務所), the office that supervises the shrine.[1] Shrines can be very large, as for exampleIse Shrine, or as small as a beehive, as in the case of thehokora, small shrines frequently found on road sides.
Before the forced separation of Shinto and Buddhism (Shinbutsu bunri), 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 (Shinbutsu shūgō). If a shrine was also a Buddhist temple, it was called ajingu-ji. At the same time, temples in the entire country adopted tutelarykami (chinju (鎮守/鎮主) and built temple shrines calledchinjusha to house them.[2] After the forcible separation of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines (shinbutsu bunri) ordered by the new government in theMeiji period, the connection between the two religions was officially severed, but continued nonetheless in practice.
The practice of marking sacred areas began in Japan as early as theYayoi period (from about 500 BC to 300 AD) originating from primalShinto tenets. Features in the landscape such as rocks, waterfalls, islands, and especially mountains, were places believed to be capable of attractingkami, and subsequently were worshiped asyorishiro.[3] Originally, sacred places may have been simply marked with a surrounding fence and an entrance gate ortorii.[4] Later, temporary buildings similar to present dayportable shrines[5] 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. Ancientshrines were constructed according to the style of dwellings (Izumo Taisha)[3][6] or storehouses (Ise Grand Shrine).[3][4] The buildings hadgabled roofs,raised floors, plank walls, and werethatched with reed or covered withhinoki cypress bark.[4] Such early shrines did not include a space for worship.[3] Three important forms of ancient shrine architectural styles exist:taisha-zukuri,shinmei-zukuri, andsumiyoshi-zukuri.[5][7] They are exemplified byIzumo Taisha,Nishina Shinmei Shrine andSumiyoshi Taisha[8] respectively and date to before 552.[9] According to the tradition ofShikinen sengū-sai (式年遷宮祭), 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.[note 1][6][10][11]
The following is a diagram illustrating the most important elements of aShinto shrine:
Thetorii is a gate which marks the entrance to a sacred area, usually but not necessarily a shrine.[12] A shrine may have any number oftorii (Fushimi Inari Taisha has thousands) 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.[12]
Torii can often be found also atBuddhist temples, however they are an accepted symbol of Shinto, and as such are used to mark shrines on maps.
The origin of thetorii is unclear, and no existing theory has been accepted as valid.[12] They may for example have originated in India as a derivative of thetorana gates in the monastery of Sanchi, which is located in central India.[13]
Thesandō is the road approaching either aShinto shrine or aBuddhist temple.[14] Its point of origin is usually straddled in the first case by a Shintotorii, in the second by a Buddhistsanmon, gates which mark the beginning of the shrine's or temple territory. There can also bestone lanterns and other decorations at any point along its course. There can be more than onesandō, in which case the main one is calledomote-sandō, or frontsandō,ura-sandō, or rearsandō, etc.
Before entering the shrine, visitors are supposed to wash their hands and mouths at a fountain built to the purpose calledchōzuya ortemizuya.
The two "lions" in front of a shrine are in effect warden dogs calledkomainu (狛犬). They were so called because they were thought to have been brought to Japan from China via Korea, and their name derives fromkoma (高麗), the Japanese term for the Korean kingdom ofKoguryo.[15] 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 thesanskrit alphabet ("a"), the closed one the last ("um"), representing the beginning and the end of all things.[16] The one with the open mouth is calledshishi (獅子), the otherkomainu, a name that in time came to be used for both animals.[15]
Thehaiden is the hall of worship ororatory of the shrine. It is generally placed in front of the shrine's main sanctuary (honden) and often built on a larger scale than the latter. Thehaiden is often connected to thehonden by aheiden, or hall of offerings. While thehonden is the place for the enshrinedkami and off-limits to the general public, thehaiden provides a space for ceremonies and for worshiping thekami.[17][18]
Theheiden is the part of a shrine used to house offerings, and normally consists of a section linking thehonden and thehaiden .[19] It can also be calledchūden (中殿) or in other ways, and its position can sometimes vary. In spite of its name, nowadays it is used mostly for rituals.
Thehonden, also calledshinden (神殿) is the most sacred building of a shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrinedkami. Thekami, in itself incorporeal, is represented physically by ago-shintai, such as a mirror or a statue.[20] The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public.
Ahokora orhokura is a very smallShinto shrine either found on the precincts of a larger shrine and dedicated to folkkami, or on a street side, enshriningkami not under the jurisdiction of any large shrine.[21]Dōsojin, minorkami protecting travelers from evil spirits, may for example be enshrined in ahokora.[21]
Sessha (摂社, 'auxiliary shrine') andmassha (末社, 'branch shrine'), also callededa-miya (枝宮)[14] are small or miniature shrines having a deep historical relationship with a more important shrine or with thekami it enshrines, and fall under that shrine's jurisdiction.[22] The two terms used to have different meanings, but must be today considered synonyms. For this reason, this kind of shrine is now sometimes calledsetsumatsusha (摂末社).[note 2]
Shrine buildings can have many different basic layouts, usually named either after a famous shrine'shonden (e.g.hiyoshi-zukuri, named afterHiyoshi Taisha), or a structural characteristic (e.g.irimoya-zukuri, after thehip-and-gable roof it adopts. The suffix-zukuri in this case means "structure".)
Thehonden's roof is always gabled, and some styles also have a veranda-like aisle calledhisashi (a 1-ken wide corridor surrounding one or more sides of the core of a shrine or temple).Among the factors involved in the classification, important are the presence or absence of:
Proportions are also important. A building of a given style often must have certain proportions measured inken (the distance between pillars, a quantity variable from one shrine to another or even within the same shrine).
The oldest styles are thetsumairishinmei-zukuri,taisha-zukuri, andsumiyoshi-zukuri, believed to predate the arrival ofBuddhism.[22]
The two most common are thehirairinagare-zukuri and thetsumairikasuga-zukuri.[23] Larger, more important shrines tend to have unique styles.
Thenagare-zukuri (流造, 'flowing style') ornagare hafu-zukuri (流破風造, 'flowing gabled style') is a style characterized by a very asymmetricalgabled roof (切妻屋根kirizuma-yane in Japanese) projecting outwards on the non-gabled side, above the main entrance, to form a portico.[23] 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 (母屋,moya) partially surrounded by a veranda calledhisashi (all under the same roof) is modified by the addition of a room in front of the entrance.[23] Thehonden varies in roof ridge length from 1 to 11ken, but is never 6 or 8ken.[24] The most common sizes are 1 and 3ken. The oldest shrine in Japan,Uji'sUjigami Shrine, has ahonden of this type. Its external dimensions are 5x3ken, but internally it is composed of three sanctuaries (内殿,naiden) measuring 1ken each.[24]
Kasuga-zukuri (春日造) as a style takes its name fromKasuga Taisha'shonden. It is characterized by the extreme smallness of the building, just 1 × 1ken in size. In Kasuga Taisha's case, this translates in 1.9 m × 2.6 m.[25] The roof is gabled with a single entrance at the gabled end, decorated withchigi andkatsuogi, covered with cypress bark and curved upwards at the eaves. Supporting structures are painted vermillion, while the plank walls are white.[25]
After theNagare-zukuri, this is the most common style, with most instances in theKansai region around Nara.[23]
Follows a list of other styles (in alphabetical order). Many are rare, some unique. Most deal with the structure of a single building but others, for example theIshi-no-ma-zukuri style, define instead the relationship between member structures. In that case, the same building can fall under two separate classifications. For example, thehonden andhaiden atŌsaki Hachimangū are single-storied,irimoya-zukuri edifices.[26] Because they are connected by a passage calledishi-no-ma and are covered by a single roof, however, the complex is classified as belonging to theishi-no-ma-zukuri'style (also calledgongen-zukuri).
The name comes fromNikkō Tōshō-gū inNikkō because it enshrines the Tōshō Daigongen (Tokugawa Ieyasu).
Hachiman-zukuri (八幡造) is a style used atHachiman 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.[27] The front structure is calledgaiden (外殿, outer sanctuary), the rear onenaiden (内殿, inner sanctuary), and together they form thehonden.[14] There are entrances at the center of the non-gabled side. In general, the rear structure is 3 × 2ken, while the front one is 3 × 1.
The space between the two structures is oneken wide and forms a room calledai-no-ma (相の間).[27] The actual width and height of this room vary with the shrine.
Extant examples areUsa Shrine andIwashimizu Hachiman-gū. This style, of which only fiveEdo period examples survive, may be of Buddhist origin, since some Buddhist buildings show the same division. For example,Tōdai-ji'shokke-dō[note 3] is divided in two sections laid out front and back. Structural details also show a strong relationship with theHeian period style calledshinden-zukuri used in aristocratic residences.[27] Another possible origin of this style may have been early palaces, known to have had parallel ridges on the roof.[27]
Hiyoshi-zukuri /hie-zukuri' (日吉造), also calledshōtei-zukuri /shōtai-zukuri (聖帝造) orsannō-zukuri (山王造) is a rare style presently found in only three instances, all atHiyoshi Taisha inŌtsu, Shiga.[23] They are the East and West Honden Hon-gū (本殿本宮) and the Sessha Usa Jingū Honden (摂社宇佐神宮本殿).
The building is composed of a 3x2ken core calledmoya surrounded on three sides by a 1-ken widehisashi, totaling 5x3ken (see photo).[28] The three-sidedhisashi is unique and typical of this style. The gabled roof extends in smallporticos on the front and the two gabled sides.[23] The roof on the back has a peculiar and characteristic shape.
Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造, lit. hip and gable roof style) is ahonden style having ahip[note 4]-and-gable[note 5] structure, that is, a gabled roof with one or two hips, and is used for example inKitano Tenman-gū'shonden.[29] The style is of Chinese origin and arrived in Japan together with Buddhism in the 6th century. It was originally used in theKon-dō andKō-dō (lecture halls) of Buddhist temples, but started to be used also in shrines later, during theJapanese Middle Ages.[30]
The name derives from its hip and gable roof (入母屋屋根,irimoya yane). In Japan the gable is right above the edge of the shrine'smoya, while the hip covers thehisashi.[29] In lay architecture it is often called justmoya-zukuri. Extant examples are Mikami Shrine inShiga prefecture andYasaka Shrine in Kyoto.[29]
Ishi-no-ma-zukuri (石の間造), also calledgongen-zukuri (権現造),yatsumune-zukuri (八棟造) andmiyadera-zukuri (宮寺造) is the name of a complex shrine structure in which thehaiden, or worship hall, and thehonden, or main sanctuary, are interconnected under the same roof in the shape of anH.[31]
The connecting passage can be calledai-no-ma (相の間),ishi-no-ma (石の間), orchūden (中殿, intermediate hall).[31] The floor of each of the three halls can be at a different level. If theai-no-ma is paved with stones it is calledishi-no-ma, whence the name of the style. It can, however, be paved with planks ortatami. Its width is often the same as thehonden's, with thehaiden from one to threeken wider.[31]
One of the oldest examples isKitano Tenman-gū inKyoto.[31] Thegongen-zukuri name comes fromNikkō Tōshō-gū inNikkō, which enshrines the Tōshō Daigongen (Tokugawa Ieyasu) and adopts this structure.[32]
Kibitsu-zukuri (吉備津造),kibi-zukuri (吉備造) orhiyoku irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造) is a style characterized by fourdormergables, two per lateral side, on the roof of a very largehonden (sanctuary).[13] The gables are set at a right angle to the main roof ridge, and thehonden is part of a single complex also including ahaiden (worship hall).Kibitsu Shrine inOkayama,Okayama Prefecture,Japan is the sole example of this style.
Misedana-zukuri (見世棚造 or 店棚造,showcase style) 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.[23] It is normally used only insessha andmassha, tiny, 1ken shrines sometimes found on the premises of larger ones. They can however be as small asbeehives or relatively large and have 1x2, 1x3 or even, in one case, 1x7 bays.[33] Apart from the lack of a staircase, such shrines belong to thenagare-zukuri orkasuga-zukuri styles and have their entrance on the non-gabled (hirairi) or gabled side (tsumairi).
TheŌtori-zukuri (大鳥造) is atsumairi style named afterŌtori taisha inŌsaka. Its floor is elevated and 2x2ken in size, without a veranda or railings. This style seems to have the same origins as the ancientsumiyoshi- andtaisha-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.[34] The interior is divided in two,naijin (inner chamber) andgejin (outer chamber).[34] 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 thebargeboards are simple and straight.[34]Chigi and threekatsuogi are present.
Owari-zukuri (尾張造) is a complex style found in large shrines of what used to be calledOwari province, nearNagoya.[23] It features many structures within the same compound, among them ahonden, ahaiden, atsuriwata-rō (a suspended passageway), ayotsuashimon (a gate built with four pillars), and other buildings. Extant examples of this style includeOwari Ōkunitama Shrine andTsushima Shrine.[23]
This style is rare, but historically important. It is also unique in that thehonden, 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 nohonden because theshintai, or object of worship, was the mountain on which they stood. An extant example isNara'sŌmiwa Shrine, which still has nohonden.[23] An area near thehaiden (hall of worship), sacred andtaboo, replaces it for worship. Another prominent example of this style isFutarasan Shrine near Nikkō, whoseshintai isMount Nantai. For details, seeBirth and evolution of Shinto shrines above.
Ryōnagare-zukuri (両流造, double flow style) is an evolution of thenagare-zukuri in which the roof flows down to form a portico on both non-gabled sides.[23] Examples are thehonden atItsukushima Shrine and at Matsuo Taisha.
Shinmei-zukuri (神明造) is an ancient style typical of, and most common atIse Grand Shrine, the holiest of Shinto shrines.[23] It is most common in Mie prefecture.[35] Characterized by an extreme simplicity, its basic features can be seen in Japanese architecture from theKofun period (250–538 CE) onwards and it is considered the pinnacle of Japanese traditional architecture. Built in planed, unfinished wood, thehonden is either 3x2ken 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 calledchigi andkatsuogi protruding from the roof's ridge.[35] The oldest extant example isNishina Shinmei Shrine, the shrine which gives the style its name.[22]
Sumiyoshi-zukuri (住吉造) takes its name fromSumiyoshi-taisha'shonden inŌsaka. The building is 4ken wide and 2ken deep, and has an entrance under the gable.[36] Its interior is divided in two sections, one at the front (gejin (外陣)) and one at the back (naijin (内陣)) with a single entrance at the front.[37] 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[37] Another example of this style is Sumiyoshi Jinja, part of theSumiyoshi Sanjin complex inFukuoka Prefecture.[37] In both cases, as in many others, there is no veranda.
Taisha-zukuri orŌyashiro-zukuri (大社造) is the oldest shrine style, takes its name fromIzumo Taisha and, like Ise Grand Shrine's, haschigi andkatsuogi, plus archaic features like gable-end pillars and a single central pillar (shin no mihashira).[23] Because its floor is raised on stilts, it is believed to have its origin in raised-floor granaries similar to those found inToro, Shizuoka prefecture.[38]
Thehonden normally has a 2x2ken footprint (12.46x12.46 m in Izumo Taisha's case), 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 isKamosu Jinja'shonden inShimane Prefecture, built in the 16th century.
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