A Dragon and a Phoenix Over the Entrance
Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall, in the precincts of Ubushina Shrine in the town of Utazu, Kagawa Prefecture, was built in 1934 and listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on 28 April 2010.
The two halls were built as one continuous structure and are registered as a single building. The worship hall is where visitors stand to pray; the offering hall behind it is where cloth and other offerings are presented to the deity. Two rooms with different functions sit front to back, and the change in roof shape makes the division legible from outside.
Floor area is 67 square metres, large for an auxiliary building in these precincts. Seen head-on, the roofline runs low and wide.
Two Roof Forms, One Concentration of Carving
Within Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall, the worship hall measures 3 bays by 2, roofed in copper over an Irimoya-zukuri hipped-and-gabled frame, with a one-bay Kōhai canopy carrying a Noki-karahafu cusped gable at the front. Behind it the offering hall, 3 bays by 3, projects under a Kirizuma-zukuri gable roof. Setting a hipped-and-gabled roof against a plain gable, one behind the other, gives the building its profile.
All the carving is gathered at the canopy. A dragon coils along the beam and a phoenix spreads its wings beside it, work the Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out as exceptional. Brackets and wall surfaces elsewhere are kept plain, so that the ornament lands exactly where a visitor's eye first arrives.
The joinery of the openings repays attention too. At the centre of the front is a pair of panelled doors hinged to fold back on themselves, and to either side hang Shitomido, lattice shutters propped upward from the bottom. Open and closed, the facade reads as two different buildings. On festival days, when the doors are folded away, light reaches the plank floor inside.
Repairs were carried out in 1985 without altering the original form.
What the Building Does on Festival Day
Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall faces the Shiogama sanctuary directly. Worshippers do not approach the sanctuary itself; they stand at this hall. Once you notice that arrangement, it becomes clear that the carvings on the canopy were set at exactly the height of a standing visitor's gaze.
On the fourth Saturday and Sunday of October the Shiogama festival runs together with the main Ubushina festival. The processional rite of the two shrines is designated an intangible cultural property by the town of Utazu, and the procession forms up in front of this hall. For one day, drums and a column of participants fill a flight of steps that is otherwise quiet.
On any other day there are few people about, which is the better condition for tracing how the sculptor differentiated the dragon's scales from the phoenix's feathers.
Visiting
Entry to the precincts is free. The interior of Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall is not normally open, but the exterior and the canopy carvings can be studied at close range and photographed freely.
Utazu Station on the JR Yosan Line is about 15 minutes away on foot, and there is parking inside the grounds. Festival dates and the hours for arranging rituals can be confirmed by telephoning the shrine office on 0877-49-0805.
The precincts occupy a low hill and the halls are reached by stone steps, which become slippery in rain.
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Q&A
- Why are Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall counted as one building?
- Because the offering hall projects from the rear of the worship hall as a single continuous structure. Together they cover 67 square metres and are registered as one building.
- What should I look at on Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall?
- The dragon and phoenix carved on the entrance canopy, and the folding panelled doors at the centre of the front with lattice shutters on either side.
- When was Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall built?
- In 1934. It was repaired in 1985 and registered as a cultural property on 28 April 2010, under number 37-0359.
- What festival takes place at Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall?
- The Shiogama festival on the fourth Saturday and Sunday of October, held with the main Ubushina festival. The accompanying procession is an intangible cultural property of the town.
- How do I reach Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall?
- Walk about 15 minutes from JR Utazu Station. Parking is available in the grounds, and stone steps lead up to the halls.
Basic Information
| Name | Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall |
|---|---|
| Location | 1644-1 Nishimachi and adjoining lots, Utazu, Ayauta District, Kagawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registration no. 37-0359 |
| Year Designated | Registered 28 April 2010 (Heisei 22) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Worship hall 3 bays by 2, offering hall 3 bays by 3, floor area 67 square metres |
| Owner | Ubushina Shrine (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Precincts free of charge. Exterior viewable, interior not normally open |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Ubushina Shrine Auxiliary Shiogama Shrine Worship Hall and Offering Hall (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00008191
- Ubushina Shrine, Utazu Sanpomichi (Town of Utazu)
- https://sanpomichi.town.utazu.lg.jp/spot/entry/old/007499/
- Ubushina Shrine guide leaflet (Town of Utazu)
- https://www.town.utazu.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/1448.pdf
- Ubushina Shrine (Utazu Tourism Association)
- https://utazu-kanko.jp/tourism/ubushina-shrine
Last verified: 2026.09.08