Tomobayashi no Uji Shrine Gate and Lattice Wall

A Lattice Wall Around the Sanctuary and Its North Gate

Tomobayashi no Uji Shrine Gate and Lattice Wall (伴林氏神社棟門及び透塀, Tomobayashi-no-uji-no-jinja Munemon oyobi Sukashibei) is the 1940 openwork wall that encloses the main hall of Tomobayashi no Uji Shrine on the north, east and west, together with the gate set in the middle of its north side, in Hayashi 3-chome, Fujiidera City, Osaka Prefecture; it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on June 29, 2022. The gate is 2.1 meters wide and the wall 55 meters long in total, both built of timber and roofed in copper.

A sukashibei is a fence with open latticework in its upper part, often used as the inner fence around a shrine's sanctuary. Here the wall stands on kerbstones laid along the edge of a raised base, and between the ground sill and the upper tie beam it is filled with yamato-uchi boarding, boards nailed alternately to the front and back so that they overlap.

The gate is a munemon, a simple type in which a gabled roof rests directly on two posts. This one has a Kirizuma-zukuri roof in copper, entered on the long side, with a carved Kaerumata bracket centered between the posts. The wall is raised at the middle of its north run, and the gate opens there.

Why the Gate and Wall Were Registered

Tomobayashi no Uji Shrine Gate and Lattice Wall is registration number 27-0861, and it is the only one of the five buildings registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with defining the sacred enclosure around the main hall and tying the shrine buildings into a coherent whole.

The value lies less in the fence as an object than in what it does. It gathers the main hall, offering hall and worship hall into one enclosure; the only open side is the south, where the offering hall meets the sanctuary.

The Agency records a refurbishment in 1983. Osaka Bunkazai Navi says the timber is Taiwanese cypress and that, apart from a cypress-bark roof replaced with copper, the wall is close to its original state.

What to Look For at the Gate and Wall

Start at the base. The kerbstones draw a straight line along the ground and the timber sill above them repeats it, marking the edge of the sacred ground plainly.

The yamato-uchi boarding in the lower panels steps in and out board by board, so seen at an angle it throws a fine rhythm of shadows. It looks quite different head-on, which makes it worth walking along the wall.

At the gate, look for the kaerumata between the posts. It is almost the only carved ornament on Tomobayashi no Uji Shrine Gate and Lattice Wall. Because the gate sits behind the sanctuary, you only see it face-on after walking around to the north side of the buildings.

Visiting the Gate and Wall

The ground inside Tomobayashi no Uji Shrine Gate and Lattice Wall is the sanctuary enclosure, so visitors look from outside the wall and do not pass through the gate.

The lattice doubles as a window onto the main hall. Look through it from the east and west sides, then stand in front of the north gate, where wall, gate and sanctuary roof line up in one view. No photography rules are published, but avoid photographing during ceremonies. Directions and hours are on the Tomobayashi no Uji Shrine page.