Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in

Ise Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inner ...

's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue.JAANUS The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of it usually stands the ''

haiden Haiden may refer to: *A Gewürztraminer wine * Haiden (Shinto), the hall of worship of a Shinto shrine See also * Heiden (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

'', or oratory. The ''haiden'' is often connected to the ''honden'' by a '' heiden'', or hall of offerings. Physically, the ''honden'' is the heart of the shrine complex, connected to the rest of the shrine but usually raised above it, and protected from public access by a fence called ''

tamagaki A is a fence surrounding a Japanese Shinto shrine, a sacred area or an imperial palace. Believed to have been initially just a brushwood barrier of trees, ''tamagaki'' have since been made of a variety of materials including wood, stone and—in ...

''. It usually is relatively small and with a gabled roof. Its doors are usually kept closed, except at

religious festivals A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar. The science of religious rites and festivals is know ...

. Shinto priests themselves enter only to perform rituals. The rite of opening those doors is itself an important part of the shrine's life.Mori Mizue Inside the ''honden'' is kept the , literally, "the sacred body of the kami". The ''go-shintai'' is actually not divine, but just a temporary repository of the enshrined ''kami''. Important as it is, the ''honden'' may sometimes be completely absent, as for example when the shrine stands on a sacred mountain to which it is dedicated, or when there are nearby ''

himorogi in Shinto terminology are sacred spaces or altars used to worship.Sugiyama, "Himorogi" In their simplest form, they are square areas with green bamboo or '' sakaki'' at the corners without architecture. These in turn support sacred ropes ('' sh ...

'' (enclosure) or other ''

yorishiro A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called , thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. are used during ceremonies to call the for worship. The word itself literally means "approach ...

'' (substitute object) that serve as a more direct bond to a ''kami''.

Ōmiwa Shrine , also known as , is a Shinto shrine located in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is noted because it contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve Mount Miwa, the mountain on which it stands. For the same re ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

, for example, contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve the mountain on which it stands (

Mount Miwa or is a mountain located in the city of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It has been an important religious and historical mountain in Japan, especially during its early history, and serves as a holy site in Shinto. The entire mountain is co ...

).Se
Ōmiwa Shrine site
/ref>Tamura, page 21 For the same reason, it has a , but no ''honden''. In this sense, it is a model of what the first Shinto shrines were like. Another important shrine without a ''honden'' is

Suwa Taisha , historically also known as Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社 ''Suwa-jinja'') or , is a group of Shinto shrines in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine complex is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Shinano Province and is considered to be one of the oldest sh ...

, head of the Suwa shrine network. The ''honden's'' structure determines the shrine's architectural style. Many exist, but three (''

taisha-zukuri Kamosu Jinja's ''honden'' and a granary at Toro is an ancient Japanese architectural style and the oldest Shinto shrine architectural style. Named after Izumo Taisha's ''honden'' (sanctuary), like Ise Grand Shrine's ''shinmei-zukuri'' styl ...

'', ''

shinmei-zukuri is an ancient Japanese architectural style typical of Ise Grand Shrine's ''honden'', the holiest of Shinto shrines.Encyclopedia of Shinto It is most common in Mie Prefecture.JAANUS History Ancient shrines were constructed according to the style ...

'' and ''

sumiyoshi-zukuri is an ancient Japanese Shinto shrine architectural style which takes its name from Sumiyoshi Taisha's ''honden'' in Ōsaka. As in the case of the '' taisha-zukuri'' and '' shinmei-zukuri'' styles, its birth predates the arrival of Buddhism in Jap ...

'') are of particular importance because they are the only ones believed to predate the arrival of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, and have therefore a special architectural and historical significance. They are exemplified respectively by the ''honden'' at

Izumo Taisha , officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god , ...

Nishina Shinmei Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Ōmachi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is the oldest extant example of ''shinmei-zukuri'', one of three architectural styles which were conceived before the arrival of Buddhism in Japan. It predates in fact the more f ...

and

Sumiyoshi Taisha , also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. However, the oldest shrine that enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin, the thr ...

. German architect

Bruno Taut Bruno Julius Florian Taut (4 May 1880 – 24 December 1938) was a renowned German architect, urban planner and author of Prussian Lithuanian heritage ("taut" means "nation" in Lithuanian). He was active during the Weimar period and is know ...

compared the importance of

's ''honden'' to that of Greece's

Parthenon The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...

. For details, see the article Shinto architecture.

Notes

References

* * * * {{Shinto shrine Shinto architecture