Nagata Shrine Worship Hall

The most ornate of the 1928 halls

Nagata Shrine Worship Hall (長田神社拝殿, Nagata Jinja Haiden) is the 1928 hall where worshippers pray at Nagata Shrine in Nagatacho, Nagata Ward, Kobe, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on February 14, 2002. It measures 5 by 5 ken (bays), under a copper Irimoya-zukuri hip-and-gable roof, with a building area of 143 square meters.

It is the building that fills the view as you come through the Shinmon Gate, with the offering hall and main hall running back behind it; all three were rebuilt after the fire of 1924. The shrine's own records list the worship hall and its front porch separately, at 33.6 and 11.3 tsubo.

Why the Nagata Shrine Worship Hall was registered

Registered as a model of form under number 28-0078, the Nagata Shrine Worship Hall is described by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as the most decorated of the shrine's buildings. In plan it is one with the offering hall behind. The first 1 ken across the front is an open porch (Kōhai), and the Agency singles out the way its roof is tied into the main roof with a sloping sugaru-hafu gable as an inventive touch. A cusped Noki-karahafu gable marks the center of the front, and carved Kaerumata struts fill the band between the tie beams.

Like the main hall, it is finished in red lacquer with polychrome details, renewed over three years from 1961 and again in 1980.

What to look for at the Nagata Shrine Worship Hall

Start with the curved gable at the center of the facade, the one bow-shaped line on an otherwise long, horizontal front. Then look between the tie beams above the porch pillars, where painted kaerumata struts repeat across the facade with varying motifs. Walk to the side to see how the porch roof is spliced into the main roof.

At Setsubun in early February the Nagata Shrine Worship Hall becomes the backdrop for the Tsuinashiki demon ritual. A stage 12 ken wide is built in front of it, large rice cakes hang from its front among sakaki branches, and the climax, when a demon splits the cakes with an axe, is played facing the hall.

Visiting the Nagata Shrine Worship Hall

The exterior can be seen whenever you are in the grounds, and everyday prayers are made from the front steps. To go inside you need to book a prayer ritual at the amulet counter just to the right inside the Shinmon Gate; walk-ins are taken from 9:00 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. The offering for an individual is 10,000 yen (13,000 yen from January 1 to 15), and people booking around the same time go in together. During festivals entry may not be possible, so the shrine suggests phoning ahead. Access details are on the Nagata Shrine page.