Myokyoji Yoshimasa Tennosha Shrine

A one-bay shrine north of the Yomori shrine

The Myokyoji Yoshimasa Tennosha Shrine (妙教寺妙正天王社, Myōkyō-ji Yoshimasa Tennōsha) is a one-bay shrine of 1917 east of the Reioden's inner sanctuary, just north of the Yomori Tennosha, 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. The name, written with characters that could be read Myosho, is read Yoshimasa.

The Seventy-Seven Subsidiary Shrines mix buildings smothered in dragons and lions with others that carry almost no carving. The Myokyoji Yoshimasa Tennosha Shrine is one of the plain ones, and it shows the basic frame of a subsidiary shrine without disguise. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Onori Tennosha, built the same year, is identical in size and form.

The standard frame

It is a one-bay shrine with a nagare-style roof of cypress bark and a building area of 1.4 square metres. A veranda with railings capped by onion-shaped finials runs along the front and both sides, with a raised step and platform at the front.

Round columns are tied by tie beams at floor, lintel and head height and topped by a plate, a way of framing that the Agency for Cultural Affairs says is shared by most of the subsidiary shrines. The brackets are simple three-part sets and the eaves have a single layer of closely spaced rafters.

The agency describes the Myokyoji Yoshimasa Tennosha Shrine as restrained in ornament. Beside its showier neighbours, what remains once the carving is stripped away is easy to see: the proportions of the frame and the clean lines of veranda and railing.

What to look for, and visiting

The Myokyoji Yoshimasa Tennosha Shrine stands among the shrines east of the Reioden's inner sanctuary, between the Yomori and Enbiki shrines. It can be seen at any time, free of charge; the interior is not open.

From the front, look at the metal finials on the railing and the stepped bands of beams that bind the columns. Compare it with the openwork carving of the Yomori shrine to the south: two one-bay shrines, two opposite ideas of decoration. Opening hours and directions are on the Saijo Inari Myokyoji page.