A Worship Hall from the Last Years of the Shiwaku Carpenters
The Sansho Shrine Heihaiden (三所神社幣拝殿) is the worship and offering hall of Sansho Shrine, built in 1897 on Honjima in the Shiwaku Islands, Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 31, 2022 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 38 square metres, registration number 37-0465, owned by Sansho Shrine.
A Shrine on Honjima in the Shiwaku Islands
According to the Kagawa Prefectural Ports Division, Honjima, 11 kilometres north of Marugame Port, is the central island of the Shiwaku Islands and was once the base of the Shiwaku seafarers. Their skill at sea made them official shipmen to the Tokugawa shogunate, and in 1860, 35 Shiwaku men crewed the Kanrin Maru on the first Japanese crossing of the Pacific.
According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Sansho Shrine stands on Honjima; its main sanctuary of 1830 and worship and offering hall of 1897 were registered on October 31, 2022, both showing the skill of the Shiwaku carpenters in their carving.
Value as a Registered Cultural Property
The Sansho Shrine Heihaiden was registered as a structure that would not be easy to reproduce. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes the skill shown in the carving of its beams, frog-leg struts, brackets and canopy, and values it as a shrine building from the last years of the Shiwaku carpenters.
What to Look For
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a hall three bays wide and two deep with a hip-and-gable tiled roof, its front layered with a triangular dormer gable and a cusped-gable canopy; an offering hall projects at the back to join the main sanctuary.
The carvings of the Sansho Shrine Heihaiden, on the head beam, frog-leg struts, angled brackets and canopy, are its highlight (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The Sansho Shrine Heihaiden stands within the grounds of Sansho Shrine. No public access information has been confirmed, so please respect worshippers. The address is 635 Honjima-cho, Marugame City; Honjima is reached by boat from Marugame Port. Both registered buildings are gathered on the group page Sansho Shrine (Honjima).
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kagawa
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Sansho Shrine Heihaiden
- [ Naoshima Art Island & Kotohiragu Shrine Visit ]
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1897 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- What kind of building is it?
- A three-bay worship hall with tiled hip-and-gable roof and an offering hall joining the sanctuary (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Why is it valuable?
- It is a shrine building from the last years of the Shiwaku carpenters, with skilled carving (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- Can visitors see it?
- It stands in the shrine grounds, but no public access information has been confirmed.
- When was the Sansho Shrine Heihaiden registered?
- On October 31, 2022.
Basic Information
| Name | Sansho Shrine Heihaiden (三所神社幣拝殿) |
|---|---|
| Location | 635 Honjima-cho, Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2022/10/31 (Reiwa 4) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, single storey, tiled roof, building area 38 square metres |
| Owner | Sansho Shrine |
| Public Access | Shrine grounds; no public access information |
References
- Sansho Shrine Honden (Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014413
- Sansho Shrine Heihaiden (Database of National Cultural Properties)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00014414
- Honjima Port (Kagawa Prefectural Ports Division, in Japanese)
- https://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/documents/13082/honjima.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.12
