A Worship Hall by Egawa Saburohachi
The Kiyama Shrine Worship Hall (木山神社拝殿) is a worship hall with a trussed roof designed by Egawa Saburohachi of 1919, moved in 1962 in Kiyama, Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a single-storey timber building with a copper roof and a building area of 181 square metres; registration number 33-0282.
A Worship Hall Moved from the Summit
According to the Okayama Prefecture Association of Shinto Shrines, Kiyama Shrine is said to date from 816 and enshrines Susanoo; the mountaintop shrine remains as the inner shrine, and the lower shrine was built at the foot of the mountain in 1962.
The worship hall was built in 1919 on the site of the present inner shrine and moved to the lower shrine in 1962, and was designed by Egawa Saburohachi (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It has a hip-and-gable copper roof on trusses and a three-bay porch under a cusped karahafu gable.
The many grouped rafters and cross-braced patterns are among the features typical of Egawa's work (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it as a model of design.
What to Look For
Look for the three-bay cusped-gable porch and the grouped rafters and cross-braced patterns (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
It is owned by Kiyama Shrine (Agency for Cultural Affairs). No official information on visiting hours was found. The worship hall, corridor and the main hall and worship hall of Zenkaku Inari Shrine in the precinct are introduced together on the Kiyama Shrine page.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1919, moved in 1962.
- Who designed it?
- Egawa Saburohachi.
- What is unusual?
- Its roof is carried on trusses.
- What marks it as Egawa's?
- Grouped rafters and cross-bracing.
- When was the Kiyama Shrine Worship Hall registered?
- On October 27, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Kiyama Shrine Worship Hall (木山神社拝殿) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1265-1 Kiyama, Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2017/10/27 (Heisei 29) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-storey timber, copper roof, 181 m² |
| Owner | Kiyama Shrine |
| Public Access | No official information on access |
References
- Kiyama Shrine Worship Hall (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00012029
- Kiyama Shrine (Okayama Prefecture Association of Shinto Shrines, in Japanese)
- https://www.okayama-jinjacho.or.jp/search/19098/?print=pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.27
