Kenkun Shrine Ceremony Vessel Storehouse

A Two-Storey Earthen Storehouse Northeast of the Worship Hall

Kenkun Shrine Ceremony Vessel Storehouse (建勲神社祭器庫, Takeisao Jinja Saikiko) is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse facing south, northeast of the worship hall on Mount Funaoka in Kita-ku, Kyoto City; it was built in 1880, moved to its present site in 1929, and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 18, 2008. It holds the implements used in shrine ceremonies and has a building area of 32 m².

The date of the move is worth noticing. The main hall and worship hall went up the hill in 1910, but the Ceremony Vessel Storehouse followed 19 years later, in 1929, the same year the present shrine office was built. It belongs to an early Showa round of work on the shrine's support buildings. The official database does not say where it was moved from.

It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, and it is the only Dozo-zukuri earthen storehouse among the eleven registered structures at the shrine.

A Floating Roof and an Upstairs Door

The walls of the Kenkun Shrine Ceremony Vessel Storehouse are packed earth finished in white Shikkui lime plaster. The roof, a hip-and-gable form in Hongawarabuki round-and-flat tiles, is an okiyane, a "placed roof": a separate timber frame set on top of the sealed earthen body and roofed independently, so the fireproof core stays intact.

The door is on the upper floor. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs this is because of the ground level: the entrance was placed at second-storey height to suit the difference in level on the site, and a one-bay canopy shelters it. The uneven ground of Mount Funaoka shows in the way the storehouse is built.

That canopy is tiled with pantiles, and the posts beneath it are modelled in relief on the wall and plastered over with it. The windows on the sides and back have small hoods of their own, which put shadow on the white walls.

A White Storehouse Among Bark-Roofed Shrines

On a summit of cypress-bark roofs, the Kenkun Shrine Ceremony Vessel Storehouse stands out in white plaster and tile. Beside shrine buildings that show their timber, a thick-walled storehouse wears its purpose, keeping the ritual vessels safe from fire, on its surface.

Its position northeast of the worship hall keeps it close to where ceremonies take place, a sensible spot for carrying vessels in and out. To its east is the shrine office of the same 1929 phase.

Look at the door canopy with its plastered posts, which adds vertical lines to the smooth wall, and at the hooded windows on the sides.

Visiting the Kenkun Shrine Ceremony Vessel Storehouse

The Kenkun Shrine Ceremony Vessel Storehouse holds ritual equipment and is not open inside. Its exterior can be seen from the grounds. Look for the upstairs door and its canopy and note how they relate to the surrounding ground level.

The shrine does not forbid personal photography, but drones and commercial shoots need permission. Directions to the shrine and general visiting conditions are covered on the Kenkun Shrine page.