Nagata Shrine West Gakujo (Music Pavilion)

The western twin of the music pavilions

Nagata Shrine West Gakujo (Music Pavilion) (長田神社西楽所, Nagata Jinja Nishi Gakujo) is a 1928 pavilion at the rear west corner of the worship hall of Nagata Shrine in Nagatacho, Nagata Ward, Kobe, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002. It has a copper hip-and-gable roof and a building area of 16 square meters.

It is the mirror image of the East Gakujo: the same size and build, with left and right reversed. Both were rebuilt after the fire of 1924.

Why the Nagata Shrine West Gakujo was registered

Registered as a model of form under number 28-0080, the Nagata Shrine West Gakujo stands on a stone platform a little lower than the worship hall's, two bays square, ridge running east to west. Its Renji-mado slatted windows are on the west and south, and its door faces east, toward the worship hall.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs says its job is to give the shrine buildings breadth and depth. With only the main, offering and worship halls in a north to south line, the complex would be a narrow strip. Setting a pavilion at each rear corner of the worship hall spreads it sideways, and the lattice wall then runs north from the pavilions to wrap the main hall. The West Gakujo is the western anchor of that enclosure.

What to look for at the Nagata Shrine West Gakujo

Play spot-the-difference with its twin. Walk along both sides of the worship hall and you notice that windows and door swap sides. At the pavilion's northern corner, see where the lattice wall begins, its lower boards and upper slats running straight out of the building; the pavilion and the wall were clearly planned as one enclosure. Just west of the Nagata Shrine West Gakujo, the Izumo Taisha Shrine faces east.

Visiting the Nagata Shrine West Gakujo

The Nagata Shrine West Gakujo is closed inside. You see it from the west side of the worship hall, passing close by on the way to the Izumo Taisha and Hiruko shrines. North of the pavilion is the area inside the lattice wall, which visitors cannot enter. Access and general visiting details are on the Nagata Shrine page.