is an ancient Japanese

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 ...

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

which takes its name from

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 ...

's ''

honden In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a sta ...

'' in

Ōsaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...

. As in the case of the ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 styl ...

'' styles, its birth predates 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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

Ancient shrines were constructed according to the style of dwellings (

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 , ...

)Young & Young (2007:50)Kishida (2008:33) or storehouses (

Ise Grand 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 Inn ...

).Fletcher and Cruickshank (1996:724) The buildings had

gabled roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

s, raised floors, plank walls, and were

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

with reed or covered with

hinoki cypress ''Chamaecyparis obtusa'' (Japanese cypress, hinoki cypress or hinoki; ja, 檜 or , ) is a species of cypress native to central Japan in East Asia, and widely cultivated in the temperate northern hemisphere for its high-quality timber and orna ...

bark. Such early shrines did not include a space for worship. Three important forms of ancient shrine architectural styles exist: ''

'', ''

'', and ''sumiyoshi-zukuri''.Kishida (2008:34) They are exemplified by

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

Kishida (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 The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

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 Chigi may refer to: * Chigi (dog), a crossbreed between a Welsh Corgi and a chihuahua (dog) * House of Chigi The House of Chigi () is an Italian princely family of Sienese origin descended from the counts of Ardenghesca, which possessed castles ...

'' (vertical) and ''

katsuogi or are short, decorative logs found on Japanese and Shinto architecture. They are placed at right angles to the ridgeline of roofs, and are usually featured in religious or imperial architecture. ''Katsuogi'' predate Buddhist influence and ...

'' (horizontal).Jinja Kenchiku

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

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 is the generic name for the three Shinto gods ''Sokotsutsu no O no Mikoto'' (底筒男命), ''Nakatsutsu no O no Mikoto'' (中筒男命), and ''Uwatsutsu no O no Mikoto'' (表筒男命). The Sumiyoshi sanjin are regarded as the gods of the sea and ...

complex in

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

Gallery

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

floor plan In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure. Dimensio ...

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 shrine Shinto architecture