Izumo Daijingu Shrine Main Hall Corridors and Openwork Fence

What the Corridors and Fence Are

The Izumo Daijingu Shrine Main Hall Corridors and Openwork Fence (出雲大神宮本殿廻廊及び透塀, Izumo Daijingū Honden Kairō oyobi Sukibei) in Chitose-cho, Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, enclose the main hall; the fence dates from 1893 and the corridors from 1935, and both were registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on February 4, 2021.

The corridors run east and west from the middle gate: single-storey timber under a Hiwadabuki cypress-bark roof, 37 square meters in all. The fence turns north from their ends, timber with a sheet-iron roof, 41 meters long.

Together the Izumo Daijingu corridors and fence mark out the sacred enclosure of the main hall on every side.

Why They Were Registered

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Izumo Daijingu corridors and fence as a calm, well-composed enclosure for the sanctuary. The registration number is 26-0616, under the historic-landscape criterion.

Forty-two years separate the two parts. The fence came first, in 1893; the corridors were added beside the middle gate in 1935. The Agency notes that the fence was given the same elevation as the corridors, so the whole reads as one continuous design.

How They Are Built

Each corridor is four bays long. On the outside, square posts are tied by a horizontal beam (Nageshi) and every bay holds a slatted window (Renji-mado). On the inside the corridor is open, with curved tie beams (Kōryō) spanning its depth.

A Sukibei is a fence made see-through with lattice rather than solid boards, so the sanctuary can be glimpsed from outside. Here it repeats the corridor's pattern, and the rhythm of slats seems to run unbroken around the main hall.

The roofing changes where the two meet, bark on the corridors and sheet iron on the fence, while the design stays the same. Standing at the junction you can see the switch.

Seeing the Corridors and Fence

Visitors cannot enter inside the Izumo Daijingu corridors and fence, but you can walk around the outside from beside the worship hall. The lattice is also what lets you see the side of the main hall.

The open inner face of the corridors and the curved beams are easiest to see at an angle from beside the middle gate. Access is covered on the Izumo Daijingu Shrine page.