A Hira-karamon Gate Carved with the Arima Crests
Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate (篠山神社中門, Sasayama-jinja Chūmon) is a gate built in 1879 roughly halfway between the main hall and the worship hall of Sasayama Shrine, on the site of the main enclosure of Kurume Castle in Sasayama-machi, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 31, 2022. It was renovated around 1930.
The Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate is a single-bay hira-karamon with a copper sheet roof (dōban-buki) and an opening 2.7 meters wide. It stands on stone walling (Ishigaki) about 1 meter high, and the lattice fence that encloses the main hall joins it on both sides. For anyone praying at the worship hall, it is the gate straight ahead, just in front of the main hall.
Why the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate Was Registered
The Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate is entry 40-0202 in the register and was listed as a model of form. The Agency for Cultural Affairs commends the care taken in its construction and the way it works the history of the Arima family, the lords enshrined here, into its ornament.
That history is carried by family crests. On the front of the gate, a frog-leg strut (Kaerumata) sits on the Kabuki tie beam spanning the posts, and it is carved with the hidari mitsudomoe, a left-turning triple comma that is an Arima crest. In the Gegyo boards hanging from the gable, the central ornament normally shaped as a six-leaved rokuyō takes the form of the rindōguruma, a wheel of gentian flowers that is another Arima crest. Using the enshrined family's crest on shrine buildings is not unusual in itself, but here the two crests are placed at key points on the front and sides of the gate.
A hira-karamon has a straight eave on its front and shows the curved line of a karahafu gable on each side. Seen head-on the roof is crisp and level; step around to the side and the curve appears, so the gate looks quite different from each direction.
What to Look For at the Middle Gate
At the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate, look first for the kaerumata on the tie beam, at the center of the front directly above the opening, where the triple-comma crest sits inside the strut.
Next look at the rear support posts (Hikaebashira). The head tie joining them is shaped like an arched kōryō beam, and cloud motifs are set on top of it. The Agency's photographic record includes a separate image of the carving on the west side of the front.
Finally walk around to the side and look up at the gegyo in the gable. At its center, in the spot where a six-leaved rokuyō would usually be, the gentian-wheel crest stands in. Once you have found both crests, the comma and the gentian, there is no doubt whose gate this is.
Visiting the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate
The Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate is the entrance to the main hall's enclosure and is not normally open for passage. Because it stands on a stone base, you view it by looking up from beside the worship hall or from the east and west sides of the grounds.
The strut on the front is a long way off from in front of the worship hall; the carving is easier to make out at an angle from near the side of the worship hall. The gegyo can be checked from the west or east side of the grounds. There is no specific guidance on photographing the middle gate. How to reach the grounds and the general visiting conditions are covered on the Sasayama Shrine page.
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Q&A
- Where is the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate?
- It stands roughly halfway between the worship hall and the main hall, on a stone base about 1 meter high, with the lattice fence around the main hall extending from both sides.
- What do the carvings on the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate mean?
- The strut on the front tie beam bears the Arima family's left-turning triple-comma crest, and the center of the gable ornament is shaped as the family's gentian-wheel crest. Both tie the gate to the Arima lords enshrined here.
- What type of gate is the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate?
- It is a single-bay hira-karamon with a copper sheet roof and a 2.7-meter opening. The roof has a straight eave on the front and a curved karahafu gable on each side.
- Can you walk through the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate to the main hall?
- Not normally. Worship takes place in front of the worship hall, and the gate is viewed from outside, from beside the worship hall or the east and west sides of the grounds.
- When did the Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate become a Registered Tangible Cultural Property?
- It was registered on October 31, 2022, as entry 40-0202, on the same day as the shrine's main hall, worship hall and lattice fence.
Basic Information
| Name | Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate (篠山神社中門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 444 Sasayama-machi, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), No. 40-0202 |
| Year Designated | Registered October 31, 2022 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Timber, copper sheet roof, opening 2.7 meters wide |
| Owner | Sasayama Shrine (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no passage; no charge to visit the grounds) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014429
- Cultural Heritage Online: Sasayama Shrine Middle Gate
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/546198
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: Council for Cultural Affairs report of July 22, 2022 (Registered Tangible Cultural Properties, structures)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/pdf/93747501_01.pdf
Last verified: 2026.09.30
