Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall

What the Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall is

The Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall (由加神社三宝荒神社本殿, Yuga Jinja Sanpō Kōjinsha Honden) is a tiny late Edo-period sanctuary just east of the main hall in the precinct of Yuga Shrine in Kojima Yuka, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, dated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to between 1751 and 1830 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 15, 2024.

It is the sanctuary of the Sanpo Kojinsha, a subsidiary shrine within the precinct. The building measures one bay by one bay, with a building area of only 3.0 square meters: a one-storey timber structure with a copper roof, facing south beside the honden. Walking toward the big roof of the main hall, it is easy to pass it without noticing.

Sanpo Kojin is generally worshipped as a god of fire and the kitchen hearth, and is also regarded as a guardian of the Three Treasures of Buddhism: the Buddha, the teaching and the monastic community. On a mountain where kami and buddhas were worshipped together for centuries, a Kojin shrine fits naturally.

Why the Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall was registered

It was registered in the 107th round as number 33-0368, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation. Okayama Prefecture's survey describes the Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall as small but carefully made, keeping older features, and of high value in both design and craftsmanship.

No dated inscription has been found. The prefecture places it in the late Edo period on the strength of its ornament and other details, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs gives a range of 1751 to 1830.

What tipped the balance is that nothing was skimped despite the size. The front is hip-and-gable (Irimoya-zukuri) and the back a plain gable (Kirizuma-zukuri), with the entrance on the gable end (Tsumairi). A one-bay porch (Kōhai) projects at the front, and a veranda with a balustrade topped by onion-shaped giboshi finials runs around three sides. The body carries linked three-block bracket sets (Kumimono), the eaves have two tiers of closely spaced rafters (Taruki), and Kaerumata struts fill the spaces between. The full vocabulary of a proper shrine sanctuary appears here at miniature scale.

What to look for at the Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall

Look first at the bracket ends (Kibana) where the head tie beam passes the corner posts. On the Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall they are cut as flat boards. By the late Edo period, carved three-dimensional bracket ends shaped like elephants, tapirs or scrolls were common; the flat form here belongs to an older manner. The prefecture lists it first among the building's old features, and the Agency's description singles out the board-like bracket ends as archaic.

Then look at the color. According to the prefectural survey, everything except the wall panels was probably once painted with bengara, an iron-oxide red. The porch and the front veranda were repainted in 1997. Comparing that red with the unpainted timber of the sides and back helps you picture the whole building in red.

After the front, walk around to the north side. The Agency chose the rear gable for its second photograph, and from there the gable ornament and bracket sets are easy to see, along with the change from a hip-and-gable front to a plain gable at the back.

Visiting the Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall

The Yuga Shrine Sanpo Kojinsha Main Hall stands in the open within the precinct and can be viewed from outside at any time during opening hours, free of charge. The interior is not open.

It sits immediately east of the main hall behind the worship hall. Because it is so small, the easiest way to find it is to pray at the worship hall and then work your way round to the east. Seen next to the honden, the difference in scale is striking. Directions and opening hours for the precinct are on the Yuga Shrine page.