Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter

Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter: A Meiji Shrine Cover

A Meiji shelter of 1.9 square meters at the Fujiu estate in Kiryu, Gunma, with a flowing shrine roof over an Edo-period Inari shrine and two stone shrines.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter: A House for the Household God

The Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter (藤生家住宅稲荷社覆屋, Fujiu-ke Jūtaku Inarisha Ōiya) is a tiny single-story timber building of the early Meiji era near the middle of the northern half of the Fujiu family estate in Hirosawa-chō, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, registered with the Inari shrine inside it and two small stone shrines as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on May 15, 2007.

An ōiya is a protective building raised over a small shrine to keep off rain and wind. The Fujiu Inari Shrine Shelter is a single bay square with a frontage of 3 shaku 5 sun, and its building area is only 1.9 square meters, the smallest of the registered Fujiu buildings.

A Shrine Roof in Miniature

The Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter stands on a platform of rounded stones. A Kōhai post at the front supports the projecting eave of a Nagare-zukuri roof, the flowing asymmetric roof common on shrine halls, here covered in sheet metal.

The walls are white Shikkui plaster between exposed posts, and a pair of hinged board doors closes the front. Inside is a plank floor on which the Inari shrine is enshrined. With its doors shut, the whole shelter works like a cabinet guarding the shrine within.

Why It Was Registered: A Shrine Older Than Its Shelter

The Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter was registered for contributing to the historic landscape of the country.

The Inari shrine inside is thought to have been made in the Edo period, earlier than the Meiji shelter that houses it, so the family was worshipping Inari here before the present building existed. Inari, the deity of rice, harvests and household prosperity, was widely enshrined by farming families as a yashikigami, a guardian god of the homestead. Along with the late-Edo main house, the shrine belongs to the oldest layer of the estate.

Visiting the Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter

The Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter stands in the middle of the northern grounds and cannot be seen from the road. It is a household shrine kept inside a private home, and it is not open for worship or viewing.

Please view the Fujiu estate only from the public road.

📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma: Find tours, activities & transport passes near Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter; [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]

Q&A

QWhat is the Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter?: AIt is an ōiya, a small building raised over a shrine to protect it from the weather. Inside it the Fujiu family enshrines an Inari shrine.

QHow old is the shrine inside the Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter?: AThe Inari shrine is believed to date from the Edo period, older than the early Meiji shelter, so it was being worshipped before the present building was built.

QHow big is the Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter?: AIt is one bay square with a frontage of 3 shaku 5 sun and a building area of 1.9 square meters, the smallest of the registered Fujiu buildings.

QWhat is included in the registration of the Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter?: AThe shelter itself plus the Inari shrine inside and two small stone shrines. It was registered on May 15, 2007.

QCan I pray at the Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter?: ANo. It is a household shrine within a private residence, and the grounds are not open to the public.

Basic Information

Name	Fujiu Family Residence Inari Shrine Shelter
Location	5-1179 Hirosawacho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture
Designation	Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building)
Year Designated	Registered May 15, 2007 (54th round, registration no. 10-0223)
Quantity	1 building (with the Inari shrine and 2 stone shrines)
Dimensions	Building area 1.9 square meters; frontage 3 shaku 5 sun
Owner	Private owner
Public Access	Not open to the public (private residence)