Myokyoji Gosha Tennosha Shrine

A five-bay shrine among one-bay neighbours

The Myokyoji Gosha Tennosha Shrine (妙教寺五社天王社, Myōkyō-ji Gosha Tennōsha) is an 1896 shrine at the southern end of the row east of the Reioden's inner sanctuary at Saijo Inari Myokyoji in Takamatsu Inari, Kita Ward, Okayama City; it was moved in 1979 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2009/01/08.

Around the Reioden stand the Seventy-Seven Subsidiary Shrines, homes for the attendant deities who serve the main deity; the temple describes each as taking on a task such as warding off misfortune or bringing good relationships. Almost all are tiny one-bay shrines. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that the Myokyoji Gosha Tennosha Shrine is the only one five bays wide; as its name, "five-shrine Tenno shrine", suggests, it appears to house five deities under one roof.

An Okayama City article names its carpenter as Aoyama Choshichi of Nagoya, who built the main hall and the front halls of the Reioden. It is the only subsidiary shrine credited to him.

A high plinth and packed brackets

The Myokyoji Gosha Tennosha Shrine stands on a tall plinth of cut stone and has a nagare-style roof of cypress bark, the common shrine form in which the front slope sweeps forward to cover the steps. Its building area is 5.0 square metres.

Bracket sets are packed between the posts as well as on them, with frog-leg struts in the gaps, and the gables are framed with rainbow beams and vase-shaped struts that project outward.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs praises its effective use of carving and its composed design. Many neighbours are covered in dragons and lions; this shrine shows its rank through the density of its bracketing and saves carving for key points.

What to look for, and visiting

The Myokyoji Gosha Tennosha Shrine stands at the southern end of the shrines east of the Reioden's inner sanctuary and can be seen at any time, free of charge. The interior is not open.

Its five-bay width is clearest beside its one-bay neighbours. Follow the row of brackets and frog-leg struts under the eaves from end to end, and note the height of the stone plinth. The subsidiary shrines have been rethatched in a project marking 1,300 years since the birth of the founder Hoon Daishi. Opening hours and directions are on the Saijo Inari Myokyoji page.