Nagata Shrine Amaterasu Shrine

A miniature shrine beside the main hall

Nagata Shrine Amaterasu Shrine (長田神社天照社, Nagata Jinja Amaterasu-sha) is a 1928 subsidiary shrine standing inside the lattice wall, east of the main hall of Nagata Shrine in Nagatacho, Nagata Ward, Kobe, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002. It is a one-bay Nagare-zukuri shrine with a copper roof and a building area of 1.0 square meters.

It honors Amaterasu, the sun goddess; the shrine's own map labels it with a longer name, 天照皇大御神社. According to the shrine, Amaterasu aided Empress Jingu's campaign alongside Kotoshironushi, which is why she shares his enclosure. A matching Hachiman Shrine stands on the other side of the main hall.

Why the Nagata Shrine Amaterasu Shrine was registered

Registered as a model of form under number 28-0082, the Nagata Shrine Amaterasu Shrine sits on a platform of three courses of cut stone. It is tiny: 2 shaku 7 sun across, 2 shaku 2 sun deep, with a front porch (Kōhai) 1 shaku 8 sun deep, and its rafters are a single layer, closely spaced.

What the Agency for Cultural Affairs notes is how it echoes the main hall. The body has round pillars like the main hall, and a railed veranda runs around all four sides. The porch posts, by contrast, are square, and a raised Hamayuka floor sits beneath the porch. The Agency describes this shrine and the Hachiman Shrine together as the main elements of the sacred space inside the wall.

What to look for at the Nagata Shrine Amaterasu Shrine

The shrine is tiny, but its three-course stone platform lifts it a step above the ground. Look for the round pillars and railing repeating the main hall's vocabulary at a smaller scale, and for the switch to square posts at the porch. Then compare it with the Hachiman Shrine to the west: two identical shrines flanking the sanctuary.

Visiting the Nagata Shrine Amaterasu Shrine

The Nagata Shrine Amaterasu Shrine is inside the lattice wall, so visitors cannot approach it; look through the slatted upper part of the wall from the east side of the worship hall. Its festival is held on October 17. Access and general visiting details are on the Nagata Shrine page.