A single room off the east veranda
Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall (荒神山神社神饌所, Kōjinyama Jinja Shinsensho) is the building attached to the east veranda of the worship hall at the summit precinct in Kiyosakicho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture, built in 1895 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2017.
It measures two bays by two, Irimoya-zukuri under pantiles, single storey, covering 12 square metres. A shinsensho is where the food offerings presented to the deities are prepared and kept.
Rather than standing apart as a service building, it grows straight off the veranda of the hall where people pray. The place of worship and the place where offerings are handled are separated by a single wall.
A working building, dressed to match
Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall carries registration number 25-0395 and was listed under the same criterion as the rest of the precinct, contribution to the historic character of the national landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes the slatted lattice filling its gable and says the building forms a single composition with the worship hall.
The plan is plain. Inside is one room with a board floor, a closet in the northwest corner and a plank door on the west side. Across the two southern bays a middle sill carries Mairado sliding doors, their faces ribbed with evenly spaced battens. That is a workaday door; the panelled folding doors of the sanctuary front are a rank above it. The joinery states the building's position in the hierarchy.
Handling offerings means water, smoke and coming and going. Even so Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall wears the same clay tiles as the worship hall and the same lattice in its gable, which is how a service building was brought inside the visual scheme instead of being hidden behind it.
Step round to the east
From the spot where people pray, Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall is largely hidden behind the worship hall. A few paces east and a small hipped-and-gabled roof appears, projecting from the veranda.
The junction is worth study. Where the two roofs meet, the way the tile courses are resolved shows that this was not bolted on later but built with its neighbour in the same year. From the east the slatted gable faces you square on.
The interior is not open. The building is in use for rites, and on festival days shrine staff pass in and out of it. Directions to the precinct and the conditions for visiting are on the Kojinyama Shrine page.
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Q&A
- What is Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall used for?
- Preparing and storing the food offerings presented to the deities. It is attached to the east veranda of the worship hall.
- How big is Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall?
- Two bays by two, hipped-and-gabled under pantiles, 12 square metres, single storey, with one board-floored room inside.
- What joinery does Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall use?
- Ribbed sliding doors across the two southern bays above a middle sill, and a plank door on the west side. A closet sits in the northwest corner.
- Where can I see Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall?
- From the east side of the precinct. From the front it is hidden by the worship hall. Move east and you see the projecting roof and the slatted gable.
- Why was Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall registered?
- As a structure contributing to the historic character of the national landscape. The citation points to the lattice gable and to the way the building forms one composition with the worship hall.
Basic Information
| Name | Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall (荒神山神社神饌所) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1931 Kiyosakicho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structures), registration number 25-0395 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2017 (Heisei 29) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Two bays by two; hipped-and-gabled; pantile roof; single storey timber; floor area 12 square metres |
| Owner | Religious Corporation Kojinyama Shrine |
| Public Access | Exterior visible from the east side of the precinct. Interior closed and in use for rites |
References
- National Cultural Properties Database, Agency for Cultural Affairs: Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00011521
- Cultural Heritage Online: Kojinyama Shrine Offering Hall
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/246751
- Kojinyama Shrine official site: history and visiting
- https://kojinyama.org/
Last verified: 2026.09.20
