is a traditional

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, meanin ...

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

Kasuga Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is the shrine of the Fujiwara family, established in 768 CE and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lan ...

'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 s ...

''.

Description

It is characterized by the use of a building just 1x1 ''

ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

'' in size with the entrance on the gabled end covered by a veranda.A ''ken'' is the distance between one supporting pillar and another, a quantity which can vary from shrine to shrine and even within the same building, as in this case. In Kasuga Taisha's case, the ''honden'' is just 1.9 m x 2.6 m.JAANUS
Kasuga-zukuri
accessed on December 1, 2009 Supporting structures are painted vermilion, while the plank walls are white. It has a structure, that is, the building has its main entrance on the gabled side. The roof is

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 aest ...

d (), 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, a Roman princely family * Chigi (architecture) , or are forked roof finials found in Japanese and Shinto architecture. predate Bu ...

'' (vertical) or ''

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), and covered with cypress bark. After the ''

nagare-zukuri The or is a traditional Shinto shrine architectural style characterized by a very asymmetrical gabled roof () projecting outwards on one of the non-gabled sides, above the main entrance, to form a portico (see photo).

'' style, this is the most common

style. While the first is common all over Japan, however, shrines with a ''kasuga-zukuri'' ''honden'' are found mostly in the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...

around

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 ...

.History and Typology of Shrine Architecture
Encyclopedia of Shinto accessed on November 2009 If a diagonal

rafter A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members such as wooden beams that extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate, downslope perimeter or eave, and that are designed to support the roof shingles, roof deck and its associate ...

(a ) is added to support the portico, the style is called .

''Kasuga-zukuri'' and ''nagare-zukuri''

While superficially completely different, the ''kasuga-zukuri'' actually shares an ancestry with the most popular style in Japan, the ''nagare-zukuri''. The two for example share pillars set over a double-cross-shaped foundation and a roof which extends over the main entrance, covering a veranda. (The ''Kasuga-zukuri'' is the only ''tsumairi'' style to possess this last feature.) The foundation's configuration is typical not of permanent, but of temporary shrines, built to be periodically moved. This shows that, for example, both the ''nagare-zukuri'' Kamo Shrine and Kasuga Taisha used to be dedicated to a mountain cult, and that they had to be moved to follow the movements of the ''

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 ...

''. The styles also both have a veranda in front of the main entrance, a detail which makes it likely they both evolved from a simple

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 ...

Gallery

File:Hiraoka Shrine honden.jpeg,

Hiraoka Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the ''Ichinomiya'' of former Kawachi Province. The shrine's main festival is held annually on 1 February. Enshrined ''kami'' The ''kami'' enshrined at Hir ...

's ''honden''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasuga-Zukuri Shinto architecture

Description

''Kasuga-zukuri'' and ''nagare-zukuri''

Gallery

See also

Notes