Sukibei

What sukibei means

A sukibei is a fence whose lower part is closed with boards or plaster while the upper part is filled with slats or lattice. It divides space while allowing a view of the interior and letting through light and air. It is widely used to enclose shrine sanctuaries and worship halls and to separate the inner and outer precincts.

Sukibei usually extend from either side of a two-storey gate or inner gate and wrap around the shrine buildings, forming a single composition with the gate. The common form is a timber frame of posts and ties fitted with slats, capped with a small roof.

It differs from other walls in being see-through. A Tsuijibei is a thick earthen wall that hides the interior completely, and a board fence closes the face with planks; the sukibei encloses while leaving the interior in view.

Reading the records and the fence

Records often list sukibei as attachments to gates or shrine buildings. The two-storey gate of Otori Shrine in Koka, Shiga, is recorded in its structure line with sukibei 77 metres long on either side, and the commentary says that the fences wrap around to divide the precinct. The prayer hall, or middle gate, of the same shrine also has sukibei returning at right angles on both sides, completing the core of the shrine group. Fences run from both the outer gate and the middle gate, enclosing the sanctuary twice over.

On site, check whether the upper part of the fence is open lattice or slats above a closed base. The length and turns of the fence can be checked against the length given in the record's structure line.