Inari Shrine Main Hall

What the Inari Shrine Main Hall in Niigata City is

The Inari Shrine Main Hall (稲荷神社本殿, Inari Jinja Honden) is a gabled main hall built in 1815 in Kuzutsuka, Kita Ward, Niigata City, and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on July 8, 2008.

It is the sanctuary of Inari Shrine (Niigata City), long the tutelary shrine of the Kuzutsuka townspeople, and it is joined to the worship hall in front by an offering hall (heiden). The worship and offering halls were built at about the same time and registered on the same day.

The Inari Shrine Main Hall stands in the northeast corner of the precinct, facing west. It is a single-storey timber building with a tiled gable roof, three bays wide and two deep, and it covers 14 square meters. A veranda with a railing runs along the front and both sides, and a short wooden stair (kizahashi) climbs to the center of the front.

Why the Inari Shrine Main Hall was registered

The Inari Shrine Main Hall was registered in the 60th round as number 15-0299, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs singles out two things: the hall is large, and its structure rewards a close look. A sanctuary three bays across is generous, and the builders framed it with techniques normally reserved for higher-ranking temple and shrine buildings.

The posts are round, their tops tapered in the profile carpenters call chimaki, after the rice dumpling wrapped in a tapering leaf. On them sit Degumi bracket sets, which step out from the wall by one tier, and above the brackets runs Shirin, a band of curved boarding. In the gable, two tiers of rainbow beams carry Taiheizuka struts, and the whole gable assembly is projected outward in two stages. Smaller shrines usually skip this kind of work; here it reaches every corner.

What to look for at the Inari Shrine Main Hall

Start with the gable. From the lower rainbow beam a bottle-shaped strut rises to a second beam, and from there another strut climbs toward the ridge. The Agency's phrase about projecting in two stages refers to the way this framework steps forward from the wall face. The steps read more clearly from a slight angle than from straight on.

Then look at the tops of the posts, where the round shafts narrow before taking the bracket sets. Above the brackets, the curved shirin boarding sweeps up toward the underside of the eaves.

Finally, the veranda. The railed walkway wraps the front and sides, but not the back. The faces turned toward worshippers are dressed, while the rear stays closed: a clear division between the public front and the private dwelling of the kami.

Visiting the Inari Shrine Main Hall

The Inari Shrine Main Hall stands behind the worship and offering halls, in the northeast corner of the grounds. From the front it is easily hidden by the worship hall, so walk around to the south side of the precinct to see the gable and the side veranda. No opening of the interior or special viewing is announced.

We found no posted rules on photography either. Photograph the exterior only, and keep clear of worshippers and festival rites. Directions to the shrine and festival dates are gathered on the Inari Shrine (Niigata City) page.