Kasuga Shrine Shinmon Gate

What the Kasuga Shrine Shinmon Gate Is

Kasuga Shrine Shinmon Gate (春日神社神門, Kasuga Jinja Shinmon) is a four-legged gateway (Shikyakumon) built in 1845 on the approach to Mikasayama Kasuga Shrine in Bungotakada City, Oita Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on October 28, 2011. Standing in front of the worship hall with low walls (Sodobei) running out to either side, it marks the line between the outer approach and the inner precinct.

The timber gate has a gabled roof (Kirizuma-zukuri) of round-and-flat tiles (Hongawarabuki) and an opening 3.4 metres wide. Its main posts are round and tapered at top and bottom, while the front and rear support posts are square with finely chamfered corners. A tie beam shaped like a curved rainbow beam (Kōryō) and a plate lock the posts together, the brackets are of the three-bearing type (Mitsudo-gumi), and the gable carries a vase-shaped strut (Taiheizuka) on a rainbow beam. Underfoot are square stones laid on the diagonal; overhead, a coffered ceiling (Gō-tenjō).

Why It Was Registered

What sets the Kasuga Shrine Shinmon Gate apart is a latticed shelf in its front bay holding figures of zuishin, the armed attendants who guard a shrine gate much as the fierce Nio kings guard the gates of Buddhist temples. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits the gate with giving the precinct a dignified entrance.

It was the last of the three buildings around the approach to be built, following the bell tower of 1830 and the kagura hall of 1835 within about 15 years. With its walls spread to either side, it makes the threshold of the sacred ground unmistakable.

What to Look For

Before you pass through, look behind the lattice for the attendant figures, placed so that they face everyone who approaches.

Compare the posts. The central pair are round and gently tapered; the four support posts are square with crisp chamfers. The builders used two different forms within one small gate.

As you walk through, look down and then up. The paving stones run in diagonal lines, and above you is a coffered ceiling. The opening is only 3.4 metres wide, yet those few steps pass a good deal of careful work.

Visiting the Shinmon Gate

The Kasuga Shrine Shinmon Gate stands on the main approach, and every visitor walks through it on the way to the worship hall. The attendant figures are viewed from outside through the lattice. Directions and general visiting information are on the Mikasayama Kasuga Shrine page.