What shinmei-zukuri is
Shinmei-zukuri is the shrine hall form represented by Ise. It is Kirizuma-zukuri entered from the eaves side, with Munamochi-bashira, Chigi and Katsuogi, and a roof kept straight without any upward curve.
The structure field states it briefly. Naige Daijingu in Ibaraki Prefecture, built in 1679, is recorded as three bays by two in this form, thatched under temporary copper sheeting.
Descriptions list the parts. The main hall of Oka Shrine in Shiga Prefecture, from the early Meiji period and moved in 1892, is described as three bays by two with free-standing ridge posts, a Hiwadabuki roof, crossed finials and seven billets on the ridge, a veranda all round and board walls on every side but the front.
The hall at Tomobayashi Shrine in Osaka Prefecture, built in 1940, is described as a single-bay hall of this form in timber under copper sheet, with finials, billets and ridge braces, built of unpainted timber with heavy members, its ridge posts standing upright without batter, and a Kure-en with a Kōran and steps with knobbed newel posts.
Distinguished from the flowing gable, and rebuilt at Ise
Where Nagare-zukuri carries its front slope long and low, this form keeps both slopes equal and adds no Kōhai. The absence of curve in the roof is a further clue, and the ridge posts rising outside the gable belong to this form alone.
Halls retired from the Shikinen sengū at Ise are sometimes granted to other shrines and re-erected. The main hall of Ubushina Shrine in Kagawa Prefecture, built in 1953, is described as the sanctuary of a subsidiary shrine of the Outer Shrine built for the rebuilding of that year and dismantled and granted away at the next, three bays by two, gabled, with a copper roof imitating thatch, no veranda, and ridge posts, billets and finials, preserving the old technique of posts set directly in the ground.
The Oka Shrine hall is likewise said to have been received from Ise at the rebuilding of 1889 and re-erected in 1892. A number of surviving halls in this form have that history.
On site, look at the ends of the ridge. A straight roof without curve, finials projecting from the ridge and billets ranged along it identify the form, and free-standing posts outside the gable are the ridge posts.
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties (structures)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/kokuho_bunkazai.html
- National Cultural Properties Database: Naige Daijingu, three bays by two in shinmei-zukuri under thatch with temporary copper sheeting
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/00004370
- National Cultural Properties Database: Oka Shrine Main Hall, a shinmei-zukuri hall with free-standing ridge posts and seven billets
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00003249
- National Cultural Properties Database: Tomobayashi Shrine hall, with crossed finials, billets and upright ridge posts
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014272
- National Cultural Properties Database: Ubushina Shrine Main Hall, built for the 1953 periodic rebuilding at Ise and granted away at the next
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00004438
Last verified: 2026.09.10