A Corner Shrine with a Catfish
In the southeast corner of the Imamiya precinct, facing east, stands the Munakata-sha, a small hall dedicated to the Munakata deities long associated with water and the sea. It was built around 1694, during the Genroku restoration.
The first thing to look at is not the hall but its base. The building rises from a cut-stone platform into which a catfish, the namazu, has been carved in intaglio. It is an apt motif for a shrine to water goddesses and an unexpected detail on so small a structure.
Small Hall, Varied Craft
The hall is a one-bay nagare-style building roofed in copper sheet. The front half of the body is left open, the fukibanachi, and a veranda runs around the front and sides, closed by side screens, with a low plank floor, the hamayuka, added at the canopy.
The body stands on round pillars with boat-shaped brackets, while the canopy uses square pillars with three-way brackets, and the two are tied together by a shrimp-shaped tie-beam, the ebi-kōryō. For its size the hall carries a surprising range of joinery, which is exactly what the national record praises.
Registration
The Munakata-sha was registered in March 2018 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape. It is one of a set of small Genroku-era halls in the precinct, and its carved base makes it the most immediately memorable of them.
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Q&A
- What is carved on the base?
- A catfish, incised into the cut-stone platform on which the hall stands, a fitting motif for a shrine to the water-associated Munakata deities.
- How big is it?
- Very small, with a floor area of about 1.4 square metres, yet it carries a wide range of joinery for its size.
- How old is it?
- It dates from around 1694, in the Genroku era, the same restoration campaign that produced the Wakamiya-sha halls.
- Where is it in the precinct?
- In the southeast corner of the grounds, facing east.
Basic Information
| Name | Imamiya Shrine Munakata-sha |
|---|---|
| Location | 21 Imamiya-cho, Murasakino, Kita-ku, Kyoto |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), registered 27 March 2018 |
| Registration No. | 26-549 |
| Date | About Genroku 7 (1694) |
| Count / Structure | 1 building; timber, single-story, copper-plate roof, floor area approx. 1.4 m2 |
| Owner | Imamiya Shrine (religious corporation) |
| Access | Kyoto City Bus to 'Imamiya-jinja-mae'; or 'Funaokayama' stop, approx. 7 min on foot |
| Public access | Precinct open and free; viewed from the grounds |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース — 今宮神社宗像社
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012201
- 紫野 今宮神社 公式サイト — 境内
- http://www.imamiyajinja.org/guide/
- 京都十六社朱印めぐり — 今宮神社
- https://kyoto-16sha.jp/imamiyajinja/
Last verified: 2026.07.02