Saguri Shrine Main Hall
The Saguri Shrine Main Hall (雙栗神社本殿, Saguri Jinja Honden) is a late Muromachi-period sanctuary of 1494 in the three-bay Nagare-zukuri style at Saguri Shrine in Kumiyama, Kuse District, Kyoto Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on 28 August 1907.
It is 3 bays across at the front, roofed in cypress bark, with a 1-bay porch (kōhai) projecting from the centre. In the nagare style the front slope of the roof sweeps down and out over the place where worshippers stand, and it is the commonest form for shrine sanctuaries across Japan. Kumiyama Town explains the three-bay scale by the hall's role in enshrining a share of the Iwashimizu Hachimangū deity.
Sources differ in how firmly they date it. The national database gives the year as 1494 (Meiō 3) and cites a ridge tablet and ink inscriptions as evidence. Kumiyama Town is more cautious, saying it is thought to be from around 1494, the date handed down by shrine tradition. This article follows the national record.
Why the Saguri Shrine Main Hall Is Designated
The Saguri Shrine Main Hall matters because it is a late Muromachi shrine sanctuary that has kept its form and carving. That a timber hall of the late fifteenth century survives in a low-lying farming district between the Uji and Kizu rivers says a good deal about the community that has looked after it.
Its designation came early, in 1907, under the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law. When the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties took effect in 1950, it moved into the present Important Cultural Property category.
Two associated items are designated with it: 1 ridge tablet, a key piece of dating evidence, and 1 former side-panel transom bearing the squirrel-and-grape carving described below. The Kyoto Prefecture tourism federation says both were added to the designation in 1988; the national database leaves the date-of-addition field blank, so that date could not be confirmed.
What to Look For
Start with the Kaerumata, the carved frog-leg brackets set between the bracket groups across the front of the Saguri Shrine Main Hall. According to Kumiyama Town, the one on the left shows flowers and birds and the one on the right autumn maple leaves with deer, a seasonal pairing that changes theme from side to side.
Then look to the upper part of the side panels (wakishōji), where squirrels scamper over grapevines. This is the motif of the designated former transom, and as the word former suggests, the original has been removed from the hall and kept separately. Kumiyama Town's page shows the original alongside a carved replica.
The vivid polychrome was repainted in repairs of 1980 and 1981, when the cypress-bark roof was also renewed. Layers of vermilion, green and gold make it plain that Muromachi shrine buildings were meant to be seen in full colour.
Note that the Association of Shinto Shrines page (as of February 2023) says restoration work on the main hall is under way. Depending on timing, scaffolding or covers may change what you can see.
Viewing the Saguri Shrine Main Hall
The Saguri Shrine Main Hall stands inside the tamagaki fence and cannot be entered. Look through the central passage of the worship hall: the main hall gate stands beyond it, and behind the gate the front of the main hall. The carvings are some distance away, so a monocular or binoculars help. The side panels are seen through the open lattice of the fence.
No official guidance from the shrine on photography could be found, so take pictures with consideration for anyone who has come to pray. Directions to the shrine and general visiting information are gathered on the Saguri Shrine page.
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Q&A
- When was the Saguri Shrine Main Hall built?
- The national database dates it to 1494 (Meiō 3), in the late Muromachi period, citing a ridge tablet and ink inscriptions. Kumiyama Town describes it as thought to date from around 1494, following shrine tradition.
- When did the Saguri Shrine Main Hall become an Important Cultural Property?
- It was designated on 28 August 1907 under the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law and moved into the present Important Cultural Property category when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties took effect in 1950.
- Where is the squirrel-and-grape carving on the Saguri Shrine Main Hall?
- On the upper part of the side panels. The original transom has been removed and kept separately as the former side-panel transom, designated together with the ridge tablet as an associated item.
- Can I go inside the Saguri Shrine Main Hall?
- No. The hall stands inside the tamagaki fence, and visitors view its front through the worship hall passage and the main hall gate.
- Is the Saguri Shrine Main Hall under restoration?
- The Association of Shinto Shrines page (as of February 2023) says restoration work is under way. The current status could not be confirmed, so the hall may look different depending on when you visit.
Basic Information
| Name | Saguri Shrine Main Hall (雙栗神社本殿) |
|---|---|
| Location | Sayama, Kumiyama-cho, Kuse District, Kyoto Prefecture (Saguri Shrine grounds) |
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Designated 1907/8/28 (Meiji 40) |
| Quantity | 1 building (with 1 ridge tablet and 1 former side-panel transom) |
| Dimensions | Nagare-zukuri, 3 bays across, with a 1-bay front porch, cypress-bark roof (no dimensions recorded) |
| Owner | Saguri Shrine |
| Public Access | Grounds open freely; no admission fee. The hall is inside the fence and its interior is not open |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: 雙栗神社本殿
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/102/2023
- Kumiyama Town, Saguri Shrine (Japanese)
- https://www.town.kumiyama.lg.jp/0000000333.html
- Kyoto Prefecture Tourism Federation, Saguri Shrine (Japanese)
- https://www.kyoto-kankou.or.jp/info_search/382
- Association of Shinto Shrines, Saguri Shrine (Japanese)
- https://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp/sys/11076
Last verified: 2026.09.25
