The fence and rear gate around the sanctuary
The Yahiko Shrine Mizugaki Fence and Rear Gate (彌彦神社瑞垣・裏門, Iyahiko Jinja Mizugaki and Uramon) in Yahiko, Yahiko Village, Niigata Prefecture, is the sacred fence that encloses the main hall of Yahiko Shrine, with the gate at its back, built in 1916 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 1998/09/02 (number 15-0008). A mizugaki marks off the holiest ground around a sanctuary.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a timber Munamon gate with a copper-sheet roof and fencing on both sides totalling 56.2 metres. At the front the fence springs from the offering hall; each side is 9 bays long, with a small wicket gate near the front, and the rear is 7 bays, with the gate at its centre.
Stone base and lattice panels
The fence stands on a stone base, braced by posts on the inside, and each bay is filled with a panel of grid lattice. A small double-pitched copper roof runs along its top.
The rear gate faces out along its length under a cusped kara-hafu roof. Giving a gate that opens towards Mount Yahiko, behind the sanctuary, such a graceful roof shows how carefully the 1916 rebuilding was designed. The side wicket gate lines up with the stone corridor.
Seeing it
There is no entry within the Yahiko Shrine Mizugaki Fence. Lying behind the worship hall and offering hall, it shows from the front of the worship hall only as part of the fence and the line of copper roof along its top.
The lattice panels were designed to enclose the sanctuary while letting a sense of it through. Where you can see the area around the main hall from the side of the precinct, look for the run of the fence roof and the cusped roof of the rear gate.
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Q&A
- What is the Yahiko Shrine Mizugaki Fence and Rear Gate?
- The sacred fence around the main hall and the gate at the centre of its rear side.
- How long is the mizugaki fence at Yahiko Shrine?
- 56.2 metres for the two sides together, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
- What is special about the rear gate?
- It is a munamon gate with a cusped kara-hafu copper roof, set at the centre of the rear fence.
- Can visitors go inside the fence?
- No; it is seen only from outside.
- When was it registered?
- On 1998/09/02, as number 15-0008.
Basic Information
| Name | Yahiko Shrine Mizugaki Fence and Rear Gate (彌彦神社瑞垣・裏門) |
|---|---|
| Location | 2898 Yahiko, Yahiko Village, Nishikanbara District, Niigata Prefecture |
| Designation | National Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure); registration number 15-0008 |
| Year Designated | Registered 1998/09/02 (Heisei 10) |
| Quantity | 1 structure (gate with fence on both sides) |
| Dimensions | Timber munamon gate, copper-sheet roof; fence on both sides totalling 56.2 metres; 9 bays along each side, 7 at the rear |
| Owner | Yahiko Shrine (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Exterior only (no entry inside the fence) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs) — Yahiko Shrine Mizugaki Fence and Rear Gate
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000663
- Yahiko Shrine official site — Main hall and worship hall (Japanese)
- https://www.yahiko-jinjya.or.jp/meguru/gosyaden/index.html
Last verified: 2026.10.01
