JAPANESE

SHINTO
ARCHITECTURE

GROUP 2
A N AT H / A N D R I A / A N N U /
S I L PA / R E N J I T H / A R U N
 CONTENT
• INTRODUCTION
-RENJITH

• ORIGIN
-ARUN

• COMMON FEATURES
-ANDRIA

• SHRINE STYLES
-SILPA

• EXAMPLE 1-ISE SHRINE

• -ANNU

• EXAMPLE 2-IZUMO SHRINE

-ANATH
‘Shinto’ or ‘Shintoism’ is a religion originated in Japan
and is practiced mostly in East Asian regions.It is
Japan’s indegeneous religion. INTRODUCTION
A Shinto shrine is actually a collection of several
buildings that together provide both religious and
aesthetic value.

Shinto architecture is the

architecture of Japanese Shinto
shrines
SHINTO SHRINES
These shrines look like
monasteries, as they are made
of several buildings and
include statues, gardens, and
places of celebration.

The composition of a
Shinto shrine is extremely
variable.The sanctuary of
the ‘kami’(God),hall of
offerings, hall of worships
are mostly common.
The practice of marking sacred areas began in Japan as
early as the Yayoi period (from about 500 BC to 300 AD)
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 Kami, and subsequently were worshiped
as yorishiro. Originally, sacred places may have been
simply marked with a surrounding fence and an entrance
gate or torii.

THE ORIGIN
OF SHRINES
TORII

YORISHIRO
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 (Izumo Taisha) or storehouses (Ise Grand
Shrine). 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. They are exemplified by Izumo Taisha, Nishina
Shinmei Shrine and Sumiyoshi Taisha respectively and
date to before 552. According to the tradition of Shikinen
sengū-sai ,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.
 • The following is a diagram illustrating
the most important elements of a
Shinto shrine:

COMMON 1.Torii – Shinto gate

2.Stone stairs
FEATURES 3.Sandō – the approach to the shrine
4.Chōzuya or temizuya – fountain to
cleanse one's hands and face
5.Tōrō – decorative stone lanterns
6.Kagura-den – building dedicated to
Noh or the sacred kagura dance
 7. Shamusho – the shrine's administrative office
8. Ema – wooden plaques bearing prayers or
wishes
9. Sessha/massha – small auxiliary shrines
10. Komainu – the so-called "lion dogs",
guardians of the shrine
COMMON 11. Haiden – oratory
FEATURES 12. Tamagaki – fence surrounding the honden
13. Honden – main hall, enshrining the kami. On
the roof of the haiden and honden are
visible chigi (forked roof finials) and katsuogi
(short horizontal logs), both common shrine
ornamentations.
 GATE (TORII)
• Entrance to a sacred area.
• A shrine may have any number of torii made
of wood, stone, metal, concrete or any other
material.
• Found in different places within a shrine's
precincts to signify an increased level of
holiness
• The origin of the torii is unclear.
• They may for example have
originated in India as a
derivative of the torana
gates in the monastery of
Sanchi, which is located
in central India
 • Torii may be unpainted or painted vermilion and
black. The color black is limited to the kasagi
GATE (TORII) and the nemaki. Very rarely torii can be found
also in other colors.
• The kasagi may be reinforced underneath by a
PARTS AND ORNAMENTATIONS second horizontal lintel called shimaki or
shimagi .
• Kasagi and the shimaki may have an upward
curve called sorimashi .
• The nuki is often held in place by wedges. The
kusabi in many cases are purely ornamental.
• At the center of the nuki there may be a
supporting strut called gakuzuka , sometimes
covered by a tablet carrying the name of the
shrine.
• The pillars often rest on a white stone ring called
kamebara or daiishi .The stone is sometimes
replaced by a decorative black sleeve called
nemaki.
• At the top of the pillars there may be a
decorative ring called daiwa.
 PATHWAY (SANDŌ)
• The sandō 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 torii, in the second by a
Buddhist sanmon, 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 sandō, in which
case the main one is called omote-sandō, or
front sandō, ura-sandō, or rear sandō, etc.
 FOUNTAIN
(CHŌZUYA)

Before entering the shrine, visitors are

supposed to wash their hands and mouths
at a fountain built to the purpose called
chōzuya or temizuya.
 WORSHIP HALL (HAIDEN)
• The haiden is the hall of worship or oratory 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.
• The haiden is often connected to the honden
by a heiden, or hall of offerings.
• While the honden is the place for the enshrined
kami and off-limits to the general public, the
haiden provides a space for ceremonies and for
worshiping the kami.
 OFFERTORY HALL
(HEIDEN)

• The heiden is the part of a shrine used

to house offerings, and normally consists
of a section linking the honden and the
haiden .
• It can also be called chūden or in other
ways, and its position can sometimes
vary.
• In spite of its name, nowadays it is used
mostly for rituals.
 SANCTUARY (HONDEN)

• The honden, also called shinden is the most

sacred building of shrine, intended purely for
the use of the enshrined kami.
• The kami, in itself incorporeal, is usually
represented physically by a mirror or
sometimes by a statue.
• The building is normally in the rear of the
shrine and closed to the general public.
 GUARDIAN LION-
DOGS (komainu)
• The two "lions" in front of a shrine are in
effect warden dogs called komainu .
• 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 ("a"), the closed one
the last ("um"), representing the beginning and
the end of all things.
SHRINE STYLES
1. Shinmei-zukuri
• The shinmei-zukuri style is a style of shrine buildings
in Japan.
• It is said that the shinmei-zukuri style, represented by
the Ise-jingu Shrine building, is one of the oldest
styles of shrine architecture, together with the taisha-
zukuri style, represented by the Izumo-taisha shrine
building, and the Sumiyoshi-zukuri style, represented
by the Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine building.
• It is believed that the shinmei-zukuri style,
with its width longer than its depth,
developed from takayukashiki-soko
(warehouses on stilts) and changed so that the
building became more used for keeping
shinpo (sacred treasures) than storing grain.
 The Structure
• The shinmei-zukuri style uses hottate bashira (earthfast posts),
has a kirizuma-zukuri style roof (an architectural style with a
gabled roof) and hira-iri (the style of buildings which have the
entrance on the long side of the buildings).

The Roof
• The roof is limited to thatch in most cases, but
can also include shingle roofs and copper roofs.
Shingle roofs are used in almost all of the
sessha (auxiliary shrines dedicated to a deity
connected to that of the main shrine),
subordinate shrines and the other minor shrines
of Ise-jingu Shrine, and Atsuta-jingu Shrine has
a copper roof. When Buddhism was brought to
Japan and came to be practiced widely, temple
buildings were called Kawara-yane (tiled roofs).
For this reason tiled roofs are rarely used in
shrine buildings.
• Because less endurable thatch or shingles are used for the roof, the
angle of the roof is made steep so that rain and snow falls down
the roof more easily.
The Pillars
• The shinmei-zukuri style building is basically horizontally
symmetrical, with an even number of pillars on either side. The
pillars are earthfast, and neither base stones nor mud bases are
used between the pillars and the surface of the ground

The Walls
• Only boards of a sufficient strength are used
for the walls of shinmei-zukuri style buildings.
There is a single opening with hinged double
doors, called Otobira, at the center of the front
side. The Otobira is usually cut directly from a
tree, and therefore an old tree of considerable
size is required for a large-scale shrine building.
It is said that a Japanese cypress of 400 years or
more would be necessary for the main hall of
Kotai-jingu Shrine.
The Floors
• Shinmei-zukuri buildings have floors raised from
the ground, with importance placed on
ventilation, and this is considered to be a vestige
of the design of takayukashiki-soko (warehouse
on stilts). Accordingly, these building usually have
a comparatively long set of steps.
 2. SUMIYOSHI-ZUKURI
• Sumiyoshi-zukuri style is one of the
architectural styles of shrines in Japan.

• It is one of the oldest architectural styles of

shrines, along with shinmei-zukuri style,
which is exemplified
by Ise-jingu Shrine, and taisha-zukuri
style, which is examplified by
Izumo-taisha Shrine.
 THE STRUCTURE
• Sumiyoshi-zukuri style architecture has no veranda (a
narrow wooden passageway along the edge of a house
facing the garden) or the sacred core pillar installed at the
center of the main sanctuary of a shrine, and the inside is
divided into a naijin (inner sanctuary of a shrine or temple)
and a gejin (part of the main sanctuary outside the
innermost sanctum of a shrine).
• It is rectangular with a width of approx. 3. 6 meters and a
depth of approx. 7. 3 meters, approx. 3. 6 meters each for
the naijin and gejin.

THE ROOF
• The roofs are not necessarily thatched; there
are wide varieties, from kokerabuki (a roof
covering made with a layer of thin wooden
shingles made of cypress) to hiwadabuki
(cypress bark roof).
THE PILLARS
• The architecture is approx. 3. 6 meters wide
and approx. 7. 3 meters deep without the
sacred core pillar installed at the center of the
main sanctuary of a shrine, or pillars at the
center on the front.
THE WALL
• A double-door opening is provided at one
location, at the center on the front.

THE FLOORS
The floor is lower than those of
taisha-zukuri style and shinmei-
zukuri style.
 ISE SHRINE
The Ise Grand Shrine ( Ise Jingū), located
in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto
shrine dedicated to the sun goddess
Amaterasu. Ise Jingū is a shrine complex
composed of many Shinto shrines centered
on two main shrines, Naikū and Gekū
• Ise Shrine is the most sacred place in the
Shinto religion. Founded in A.D. 690 and
known as Jingu in Japan, it is considered
to be the spiritual home of Japanese
people, a place all Japanese felt they
should go.
• The shrine is demolished and rebuilt
every 20 years in keeping with the Shinto
idea of death and rebirth.
• This ranks very high on the list of places
you will never go because the only
person who can enter is the priest or
priestess and he must be a member of
the Japanese imperial family.
• The Shrine of the Shinto Goddess
Ise is comprised of the Inner
Shrine at Ise, dedicated to
Amaterasu, the Goddess of the
Sun; the Outer Shrine, dedicated to
Toyouke, the Goddess of Arms,
Crops, Food and Agriculture; 14
auxiliary sanctuaries; and 109 lesser
sanctuaries, including special
facilities for the preparation of
sacred food and textile offerings.
 OUTER SHRINE AT ISE
• Outer Shrine at Ise (about 4 miles from
the Inner Shrine) is smaller, older, less
visited and less sacred that the Inner
Shrine (Established in A.D. 477). The
remains of tree called the heartpost from
the original 5th century shrine lies
beneath the shrine.
• Food offering made every morning
and afternoon.
• The main shrine is hidden
from view by four fences.
 INNER SHRINE AT ISE
• Inner Shrine at Ise is large, more spread out,
more crowded and more sacred that the Outer
Shrine.
• The entrance of the Inner Shrine at Ise begins
with the Uji bridge, which crosses over the
sacred Isuzu River.
• The large structure of the left of that main path
to the main sanctuary is the Hall of Sacred
Music and Dance. The dances and music
performed her are expressions of gratitude
aimed at pleasing or protecting the resident
kami.
 MAIN
SANCTUARY
• Houses the August mirror of Amaterasu.
• The mirror is kept in brocade bag on
wooden pedestal within the inner sanctum
of the sanctuary along with Imperial
offerings of silk and other materials.
• Four rows of fences and hedges enclose the
main sanctuary.
• Most ceremonies take place in the courtyard
situated between the second and third gates.
To the left the center are seats, surrounded
by stones, for officiating priests. To the right
are seats for Imperial envoy and his
assistant.
 IZUMO SHRINE
Izumo-taisha ( “Izumo Grand Shrine”), officially Izumo
..........
Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important
Shinto shrines in Japan. Located in Izumo, Shimane
Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is
dedicated to the god Ōkuninushi famous as the Shinto
deity of marriage and to Kotoamatsukami, distinguishing
heavenly kami. The shrine is believed by many to be the
oldest Shinto shrine in Japan, even predating the Ise
Grand Shrine.
 • During the Kamakura period, around 1200, the
main structure was reduced in size. Then in
1744, the shrine was reconstructed to the
present size of 24 meters high and 11 meters
square at its base.

• The main structure of Izumo Oyashiro was

built in the Taisha style, the oldest style of
building shrines.
• An impressive sized gable-entrance structure
is built for the main structure, which gave the
name of The Great Shrine or The Grand
Shrine.
• The main hall (honden) bears an enormous
chigi (scissor-shaped finials at the front and
back ends of the roof).
 • In plan, the present Main Shrine resembles that of
the Daijoe Shoden, built for the accession of each
new Emperor. The main shrine at Izumo is
thought, therefore, to preserve a floor plan
characteristic of ancient domestic architecture
• The layout consists of nine support pillars
arranged so that the inside is divided into four
sections and causes the entrance to be off-
centered.
• A significant characteristic that is common among
most shrines is the symmetrical design, making the
main structure of Izumo-taisha peculiar for its
asymmetrical floor plan.
• The main structure was built more like a home
rather than a shrine which suggests that between
the people and kami there was a less formal
relationship than at other shrines.