Teishoji Temple Inari Hall

Teishoji Temple Inari Hall at a Glance

The Teishoji Temple Inari Hall (貞照寺稲荷堂, Teishōji Inari-dō) is a small shrine hall built in 1933 beside the treasure house of Teishoji Temple in Unuma Hoshakujicho, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on 3 August 2006.

The single-storey timber building has copper roofing and a building area of 11 square metres. It faces roughly east and stands about 30 metres southwest of the main hall, right next to the Sadayakko Engikan museum. As its name says, it is dedicated to Inari, the deity of harvests and prosperity, and the temple's calendar includes a Shusse Inari festival in February.

Why the Teishoji Temple Inari Hall Was Registered

The Teishoji Temple Inari Hall was registered as a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it is plain but carefully built. For all its restraint, nothing essential has been left out: the way the posts are braced, the veranda, and the gable ornament all follow proper temple and shrine carpentry.

Teishoji mixes richly decorated buildings such as the main hall and the gate with deliberately simple ones like this. Built in the same year for the same patron, they show how the designers scaled the amount of ornament to each building's rank.

What to Look for at the Teishoji Temple Inari Hall

A Gable-Front Plan with a Three-Sided Veranda

The roof is an east-west Kirizuma-zukuri gable in copper, and the entrance is on the gable end, a layout known as Tsumairi. The eaves have a single layer of rafters. Inside, the plan runs deep: a wooden-floored front area leads to shelving at the back. A Kirime-en veranda wraps around the front and both sides, but not the rear.

Exposed Posts and Simple Brackets

The walls are Shinkabe, with the square posts left visible and braced by tie beams and horizontal Nageshi rails. Simple boat-shaped bracket blocks carry the purlins, and there are no complex bracket sets. The result is close in spirit to domestic carpentry, which gives the little hall its calm presence.

The Frog-Leg Strut

Almost the only ornament is the Kaerumata frog-leg strut in the front gable. Stand at the veranda and look up into the triangle of the roof: it is where the care taken over the Teishoji Temple Inari Hall shows most clearly.

Visiting the Teishoji Temple Inari Hall

The Teishoji Temple Inari Hall sits immediately west of the Sadayakko Engikan, so it is easy to see its exterior on the way to or from the museum. Because the front faces east, the gable is best lit in the morning.

No opening of the interior is advertised. For the date of the Shusse Inari festival, contact the temple. Directions and temple hours are on the Teishoji Temple page.