Miyazaki Shrine Tamagaki Fence

A Boundary That Runs 119 Meters

Miyazaki Shrine Tamagaki Fence is a roofed timber fence in the Jingu district of Miyazaki City, put up in 1907 and added to the register of tangible cultural properties in January 2010. It runs 119 meters in total, which makes it the longest of the registered structures in this precinct.

The line it draws is not straight. Starting from the left and right flanks of the main gate, it runs east and west, turns once toward the south, then resumes its east-west course. The effect is a shallow forecourt in front of the gate, bounded on three sides, which a visitor passes into before passing through.

Construction is consistent along the whole length. Round columns stand on a low masonry plinth and are locked together by a ground sill. Behind each run, short struts brace the fence against wind. The bays between columns are filled not with boarding but with open timber palings, so the fence screens without blocking, and light and air pass through it all day.

Miyazaki Shrine Tamagaki Fence dates from 1907. Of the eleven registered structures in this precinct, it is the longest.

Registered as a Maker of the Precinct's Character

The listing gives registration number 45-0064 and cites the standard ground, that the structure contributes to the historic landscape of the nation. The entry was made on 15 January 2010 and gazetted on 3 February.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs description of Miyazaki Shrine Tamagaki Fence ends with an unusual phrase for a database record. It says the fence marks off the sacred ground with an atmosphere of solemnity. Official descriptions of this kind normally confine themselves to materials and dimensions, and the departure is worth noticing: what is being registered here is partly an effect, not only a construction.

That effect comes from continuity. A fence of this length, built to one detail without variation, turns an open stretch of ground into a defined interior. It is also the reason the fence is easy to overlook. Visitors register the gate, then the trees, then the buildings beyond, and the thing that organised all three into a composition goes unremarked.

What to Look For

The roof is the detail to start with. Miyazaki Shrine Tamagaki Fence is covered in copper laid over battens, and the caps that finish each batten are shaped into rounded profiles known as monkey-head ridging. Seen from directly in front, these read as a row of small domes running the length of the fence; seen from an angle they line up into a ribbed surface. Few visitors look up at a fence, and this is the reason to.

Next, the eaves. Above each column, an arm projects outward to carry a boarded soffit. The arrangement is simple bracketing reduced to its minimum, and it gives the fence a shadow line along its whole length that changes as the sun moves.

Then the palings. The gaps between them are regular, so the fence produces a flicker of alternating light and dark when you walk beside it at a normal pace. Look through and the trees behind resolve as vertical strips.

Last, find the turn. Where the fence angles to the south, the roof has to change direction, and the carpentry at that corner shows how the batten caps are mitred and closed. It is the one point along the run where the construction explains itself.

Visiting Miyazaki Shrine Tamagaki Fence

Miyazaki Shrine Tamagaki Fence is outdoors, roadside to the approach, and can be walked along its full length. The forecourt it encloses lies in front of the gate, so the outer face is reachable whether or not the gate is open, while the inner face follows the precinct hours.

There is nothing to enter and no ticket to buy. Photography is not restricted. The best light for the batten caps is mid-morning, when the sun is high enough to model them but still at an angle.

For the route from the nearest station and the hours the grounds keep, see the Miyazaki Shrine page.