Kenkun Shrine Corridor

A Two-Bay Covered Passage Behind the Norito Hall

Kenkun Shrine Corridor (建勲神社渡廊, Takeisao Jinja Wataro) is a short roofed passage linking the main hall and the norito hall on the summit of Mount Funaoka in Kita-ku, Kyoto City; it was built at the foot of the hill in 1880, moved to its present site in 1910, and entered on the national register as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on April 18, 2008.

It is 2 bays long and 1 bay wide, with a building area of 6.0 m². The ridge runs in the direction of travel, so the gable ends face the two buildings it joins, and the roof is covered in copper sheet.

That copper roof is the easiest way to pick it out. The main hall and norito hall on either side of the Kenkun Shrine Corridor, and the worship hall in front of them, are all roofed in Hiwadabuki cypress bark. Of the four buildings on the central axis, the corridor alone uses a different material.

A Light Frame, Plainly Shown

The Kenkun Shrine Corridor was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as simply built and light in design. Its job is to bind the main hall and norito hall into a single sequence, not to stand out on its own.

The frame is straightforward. Square posts carry boat-shaped bearing blocks, which in turn carry the beams and wall plates. The interesting part is the ridge. At the middle of each beam stands a bachizuka, a short post that flares at its foot like the plectrum of a shamisen, and another bearing block on top of it receives the ridge beam. Where the main hall and norito hall hold up their ridges with two raking struts meeting in an inverted V, the corridor uses one vertical post. Adjacent buildings, two different ways of carrying a ridge.

There is no ceiling; the single tier of widely spaced rafters is left exposed as a Keshō-yaneura finished underside. The floor is paved in stone only along the centre.

What the Stone Strip Tells You

Only the middle line of the Kenkun Shrine Corridor floor is stone. The strip where people walk is marked out in a harder material than the edges, which suggests the building's purpose: a covered way from the norito hall to the front of the sanctuary.

The corridor came up from the foot of the hill in 1910 with the main hall and norito hall. All three date from the 1880 construction, and on the summit they were set in this order on a single east to west line.

Standing inside, you would see the rafters directly overhead, but ordinary visitors do not go there. What can be checked from outside is the short copper roof squeezed between two roofs of cypress bark, and the flared post in its gable.

Visiting the Kenkun Shrine Corridor

The Kenkun Shrine Corridor stands inside the lattice fence around the main hall and cannot be approached on an ordinary visit. From in front of the worship hall, looking west, its roof shows between those of the norito hall and the main hall. The side can be glimpsed through the fence.

A formal prayer ceremony takes participants inside the inner gate, which brings the corridor into close view. The shrine accepts these from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and asks that you telephone first. Drones and commercial photography need permission. Directions to the shrine and general visiting conditions are covered on the Kenkun Shrine page.