is an ancient Japanese

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

architectural style An architectural style is a classification of buildings (and nonbuilding structures) based on a set of characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, for ...

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 Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

History

Ancient shrines were constructed according to the style of dwellings ( Izumo Taisha)Young & Young (2007:50)Kishida (2008:33) or storehouses ( Ise Grand Shrine).Fletcher and Cruickshank (1996:724) 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: '' taisha-zukuri'', '' shinmei-zukuri'', and ''sumiyoshi-zukuri''.Kishida (2008:34) They are exemplified by Izumo Taisha, Nishina Shinmei Shrine and Sumiyoshi TaishaKishida (2008:35) respectively and date to before 552.Kishida (2008:126) 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.

Structure

The ''honden'' on the grounds at Sumiyoshi Taisha has been designated as a national treasure on the grounds that it is the oldest example of this style of architecture. The four identical ''honden'' buildings that compose it are 4 ''ken'' wide and 2 ''ken'' deep and have an entrance under one of the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s (a characteristic called . The roof is simple, doesn't curve upwards at the eaves and is decorated with purely ornamental poles called '' chigi'' (vertical) and '' katsuogi'' (horizontal).Jinja Kenchiku

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

Nihon Daihyakka Zensho, accessed on November 29, 2009 The building is surrounded by a fence called ''mizugaki'' (瑞垣), in its turn surrounded by another called (see image in the gallery). There is no veranda, and a short stairway leads to the door. The interior is divided in two sections, one at the front () and one at the back () with a single entrance at the front (see floor plan in the gallery).JAANUS
Sumiyoshi-zukuri
accessed on December 1, 2009 The structure is simple, but brightly colored: supporting pillars are painted in vermilion and walls in white. This 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.

Gallery

Image:Sumiyoshi shrine Honden.jpg, The ''honden'' Image:Sumiyoshi Zukuri.jpg, The ''honden's'' floor plan

Notes

References

*JAANUS
Shinmei-zukuri
accessed on December 1, 2009
History and Typology of Shrine Architecture
Encyclopedia of Shinto accessed on November 29, 2009 *, * Shinto architecture Sumiyoshi shrines Sumiyoshi-zukuri {{Sumiyoshi Faith