The Last of the Buildings to Reach the Summit
Kenkun Shrine Chozusha (建勲神社手水舎, Takeisao Jinja Chozusha) is a one-bay-square purification pavilion southeast of the worship hall on the summit of Mount Funaoka in Kita-ku, Kyoto City; it was built in 1880, moved to its present site in 1922, and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 18, 2008. A chozusha, also called chozuya or temizuya, shelters the water basin where worshippers rinse their hands and mouth before approaching the gods.
The main hall, worship hall, norito hall and corridor were moved up the hill in 1910. The Kenkun Shrine Chozusha followed twelve years later. The Agency for Cultural Affairs database records only the year of the move, not where the pavilion came from, so what can be said is the order of events: an 1880 structure joined the summit precinct more than a decade after the main buildings.
It covers 4.2 m², the smallest of the nine registered structures at the shrine for which an area is recorded.
Registered as a Structure, Not a Building
In the official classification the Kenkun Shrine Chozusha is not a "building" but an "other structure": it has no enclosed room, only posts and a roof over a basin, and its size is recorded as an area rather than a building area. It was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape, as part of the fabric of the precinct.
The frame is 1 bay square. Square posts rise from stone footings and are tied at head height by a tie beam; boat-shaped bearing blocks on the posts carry a curved Kōryō beam and the wall plates. The gabled roof, Kirizuma-zukuri, is clad in Hiwadabuki cypress bark, with its ridge running east to west and a gentle pitch. The gables show two raking struts meeting in an inverted V, and the eaves have a single tier of widely spaced rafters.
Those inverted-V gable struts are the same device used on the main hall and norito hall. A minor pavilion by the path was given the ridge support of the sanctuary buildings, built in the same vocabulary as the core of the shrine.
Diamond Lattice and a Stone Basin
What catches the eye on the Kenkun Shrine Chozusha is the band of diamond-lattice Ranma transoms running round all four sides above the tie beams. The pavilion is open between its posts, but the lattice gives it a light enclosure at the top, and it sharpens the outline of what is otherwise a very small structure.
There is no ceiling; the rafters are left exposed as a Keshō-yaneura underside. At the centre stands a stone basin. Rinse your hands and glance up, and the lattice and the rows of rafters are both in view at once.
The gable struts appear at the east and west ends, where the ridge terminates. Seen side-on from the approach, the inverted V is easy to read.
Finding and Using the Kenkun Shrine Chozusha
The Kenkun Shrine Chozusha stands southeast of the worship hall, on the way from the approach to the hall; Funaoka Myoken, a small shrine to the guardian deity of the hill, lies to its southwest. Of all the registered structures here, it is the one visitors actually step up to and use.
The usual sequence is to take the ladle in your right hand and pour water over your left, switch hands and rinse the right, then pour a little into your cupped left hand to rinse your mouth. How water is provided, and whether ladles are set out, can change from time to time, so follow what you find on site.
The shrine's website does not forbid personal photography, but drones and commercial shoots need permission. Since people use the pavilion, take photos without getting in their way. Directions to the shrine and general visiting conditions are covered on the Kenkun Shrine page.
Q&A
- When was the Kenkun Shrine Chozusha built?
- It was built in 1880 and moved to its present site in 1922, twelve years after the main hall and other core buildings were moved up in 1910. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 18, 2008.
- What does "chozusha" mean at Kenkun Shrine?
- It is the purification pavilion where worshippers rinse their hands and mouth. The registered reading is chozusha; the same word is often read chozuya or temizuya. The shrine itself is formally Takeisao Jinja and popularly Kenkun Jinja.
- What should I look at on the Kenkun Shrine Chozusha?
- The diamond-lattice transoms around the top, the exposed rafters overhead, the stone basin at the centre, and the inverted-V gable struts it shares with the main hall and norito hall.
- How large is the Kenkun Shrine Chozusha?
- It is 1 bay square with an area of 4.2 m², the smallest of the nine registered structures at Kenkun Shrine for which an area is recorded.
- Where is the Kenkun Shrine Chozusha in the grounds?
- Southeast of the worship hall, passed on the way from the approach to the hall. The small Funaoka Myoken shrine lies to its southwest.
Basic Information
| Name | Kenkun Shrine Chozusha (建勲神社手水舎, Takeisao Jinja Chozusha), purification pavilion |
|---|---|
| Location | 49 Murasakino Kitafunaoka-cho, Kita-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture |
| Designation | National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure, classed as other constructed work); registration number 26-0287; criterion: contribution to the historic landscape |
| Year Designated | Registered April 18, 2008 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Timber structure, gabled roof, cypress-bark roof, 1 by 1 bay, area 4.2 m² |
| Owner | Kenkun Shrine (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Beside the approach and in use by worshippers; grounds open for worship |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Kenkun Shrine Chozusha
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007065
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Kenkun Shrine Main Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00007058
- Kenkun Shrine official website (English)
- https://kenkun-jinja.org/en/
- Kenkun Shrine official website: Precinct guide (Japanese)
- https://kenkun-jinja.org/precincts/
- Kenkun Shrine official website: History (Japanese)
- https://kenkun-jinja.org/history/
Last verified: 2026.09.24
