Yodo Shrine Worship Hall

A Momoyama Dance Hall at Yodo

The Yodo Shrine Worship Hall (与杼神社拝殿) is the worship hall of Yodo Shrine in Yodo Honmachi, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, built in 1607 and designated an Important Cultural Property on June 22, 1971. It is one of the shrine buildings rebuilt by Toyotomi Hideyori, originally a dance pavilion (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as two bays by one, single-storey, hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) with its entrance on the gable end, roofed in wood shingle, and owned by the shrine. It was moved to its present site within the former Yodo Castle in 1900 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Guardian Shrine of Yodo

According to the Kyoto City Tourism Association, Yodo Shrine enshrines Toyotamahime, Takamimusubi and Hayaakitsuhime, and was once called Yodohime-sha or Mizutare-sha. Tradition says the monk Senkan brought the Yodo deity here from Kawakami in Hizen Province in the Owa era (961 to 964), and it was revered as a guardian of shipping on the Katsura River.

Fushimi Ward Office notes that the shrine stood on the right bank of the Katsura River until 1900, when river works moved it to the site of Yodo Castle. Its main sanctuary and worship hall were designated in 1971, but in August 1975 the sanctuary burned down; the worship hall narrowly escaped (Fushimi Ward Office).

Why It Was Designated

The Yodo Shrine Worship Hall was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1971. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that, though simple in design as a former dance pavilion, it shows the character of the Momoyama period together with the main sanctuary, a typical example of early modern shrine architecture.

What to Look For

The Yodo Shrine Worship Hall is a small hip-and-gable building, two bays by one, turned gable-end to the front, with a wood-shingle roof (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Built as a pavilion for dance offerings, it is plain and restrained in decoration (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Look for it in the grounds as the Momoyama building that survived the fire.

Visiting Yodo Shrine

The Yodo Shrine Worship Hall stands in the grounds of Yodo Shrine and can be seen from within them. The annual festival in November is known as the Yodo Matsuri (Kyoto City Tourism Association). The address is 167 Yodo Honmachi, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.