Kasami Shrine Main Hall

What is the Kasami Shrine Main Hall?

The Kasami Shrine Main Hall (加佐美神社本殿, Kasami Jinja Honden) in Sohara Furuichiba-cho, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, is a shrine sanctuary built in 1687 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on April 18, 2008.

A main hall (honden) is the building that houses the deity; worshippers pray in front of it rather than inside. The Kasami Shrine Main Hall stands at the back of the grounds, at the southern foot of Mt. Kasami, facing south. It is a three-bay Nagare-zukuri sanctuary, a style in which the front slope of the roof sweeps forward to cover the steps, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as unusually large for its type. The single-storey timber building covers 19 square meters under a roof of cypress bark (Hiwadabuki).

This is the oldest of the three registered buildings at Kasami Shrine. The Agency's database also records repairs carried out in the late Edo period, sometime between 1751 and 1829. The Offering Hall of 1910 stands directly in front of it and frames the space for worship before the sanctuary.

Why the Kasami Shrine Main Hall was registered

The Kasami Shrine Main Hall was entered in the 59th round of registration as number 21-0157, under the criterion of serving as a model of form. The Offering Hall and Worship Hall, registered on the same day, were chosen for their contribution to the historic landscape; the Main Hall alone was recognized for its design and construction.

The Agency's description starts with the front of the roof. A triangular gable (Chidori-hafu) rises from the long front slope, and below it the eaves lift into a curved gable (Noki-karahafu). Stacking the two gables gives the facade a depth that a plain nagare-zukuri roof does not have.

The framing is just as careful. Round pillars carry projecting bracket sets (Degumi), and the spaces between them are filled with curved panels (Shirin). In the side gables, a double tier of rainbow beams (Kōryō) with a vase-shaped strut (Taiheizuka) pushes the gable wall one step forward. The Agency calls it a structure well worth a close look.

What to look for at the Kasami Shrine Main Hall

Start with the layered front of the roof. The triangular gable sits halfway up the bark roof, and the curved gable beneath it softly raises the eave line. A three-bay front is wide enough to hold both without crowding.

Then follow the veranda. A railed veranda (Kirime-en with Kōran) runs along the front and both sides of the core, and the front has wooden steps rising from a low platform (Hamayuka). Even from a distance, the length of the steps gives a sense of how high the floor sits.

If you can see the Kasami Shrine Main Hall from the side, look at the gable end, where the second rainbow beam rests on the first and the wall projects one step outward.

Seeing the Kasami Shrine Main Hall

The Kasami Shrine Main Hall stands right behind the Offering Hall, so it is hard to see from the front of the approach. Neither the shrine nor Kakamigahara City announces any interior viewing or access around the sanctuary, so plan to view the exterior from the open grounds.

No published rules on photography were found. Please refrain from taking pictures during prayers and ceremonies, and do not touch the bark roof. Directions and visiting information are on the Kasami Shrine page.