Rikyu Hachimangu Shrine Lattice Fence

The Fence Around the Main Hall

Rikyu Hachimangu Shrine Lattice Fence (離宮八幡宮透塀, Rikyū Hachimangū Sukibei) is a see-through fence of about 1928 at Rikyu Hachimangu in Oyamazaki, Kyoto Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2013.

It wraps the two sides and the back of the main hall in a U, a timber fence under a copper-plate roof with a total length of 38 metres and a Kugurido wicket door. The sides run 6 bays and the back 8. At the front the fence joins the ends of the worship hall's tsuridono, so fence and worship hall together close off the main hall on every side.

Why It Was Registered

The Rikyu Hachimangu Shrine Lattice Fence was registered as a model of form. It stands on a raised base and is boarded solid to waist height. Two horizontal Nageshi tie beams, one at waist height and one at the head, lock the posts together, and diamond lattice fills the space between. The roof is copper-plated over widely spaced Taruki rafters.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs calls it a plain but dignified kekkai, a boundary that separates the sacred from the everyday. The fence closes the main hall off while letting you see it through the lattice, doing two jobs at once.

Solid below and open above, it has the weight of a guardian wall and the lightness of a screen.

What to Look For

Walk along the fence and watch the lattice repeat, held top and bottom by the two horizontal beams.

Look through at the main hall. Only from outside this fence can you see its sides and back, including the point where its veranda stops at the screen walls.

Look too for the wicket door. Where the builders placed an opening in 38 metres of fence says something about how priests move around the main hall.

Visiting the Lattice Fence

You cannot go inside the Rikyu Hachimangu Shrine Lattice Fence, but you can walk along its outside. Go round from beside the worship hall, follow the side and continue along the back to see the main hall from three directions.

No published restriction on photographing the exterior could be found, but hold off during ceremonies and while others are praying, and follow any signs on site. Directions and general visiting conditions are covered on the Rikyu Hachimangu page.