Marking a Sacred Precinct
This property is a pair: a gate and an openwork fence that together enclose the Wakamiya-sha Honden. The gate opens at the front of the sanctuary, and the fence runs out from either side to encircle it. Both were built in 1694, in the Genroku era, and both stand on a cut-stone base.
Their job is to draw the boundary of the Wakamiya sub-precinct, setting the small sanctuary and its worship hall apart within the larger shrine grounds.
Gate and Fence in Detail
The gate is an udegi-mon, a bracket-arm gate with a gabled roof. Its roof is a stepped covering with ridge caps, finished in board-jointed tile, the meita-gawara. The opening measures about 1.8 metres across.
The fence is a sukibei, an openwork type. Its pillars are tied with nageshi beams, the upper panels filled with paired-diamond lattice, the fukiyose-bishi-gōshi, while the lower part is finished as an earthen panel. The roof matches the gate in board-jointed tile. The whole runs to about 26 metres.
Registration
The gate and fence were registered together in March 2018 under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape, described in the national record as a carefully built gate and wall marking the Wakamiya sacred ground.
With the Wakamiya-sha Honden and its worship hall, they complete a small Genroku-era enclosure preserved within the shrine, worth seeking out for anyone interested in how sacred boundaries were drawn.
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Q&A
- What is included in this property?
- Two elements: a gate at the front of the Wakamiya-sha Honden, and an openwork fence of about 26 metres enclosing the sanctuary. Both date from 1694.
- What kind of gate is it?
- An udegi-mon, a bracket-arm gate with a gabled, board-jointed tile roof, its opening about 1.8 metres across.
- What is a sukibei?
- An openwork fence. Here the upper panels carry paired-diamond lattice, the lower part is an earthen panel, and the roof is board-jointed tile.
- Why does it matter?
- It marks the boundary of the Wakamiya sub-precinct and, with the Honden and worship hall, preserves a small Genroku-era enclosure within the shrine.
Basic Information
| Name | Imamiya Shrine Wakamiya-sha Gate and Openwork Fence |
|---|---|
| Location | 21 Imamiya-cho, Murasakino, Kita-ku, Kyoto |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure), registered 27 March 2018 |
| Registration No. | 26-540 |
| Date | Genroku 7 (1694) |
| Count / Structure | 1 structure; gate: timber, tile roof, opening 1.8 m; fence: timber, tile roof, total length 26 m |
| 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 — 今宮神社若宮社門・透塀
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012192
- 紫野 今宮神社 公式サイト — 歴史
- http://www.imamiyajinja.org/history/
- 京都十六社朱印めぐり — 今宮神社
- https://kyoto-16sha.jp/imamiyajinja/
Last verified: 2026.07.02