Mikami Shrine Romon Gate

A Gate That Records Its Own Date

The Mikami Shrine Romon Gate (御上神社楼門) is a two-storey romon gate of about 1365 in the grounds of Mikami Shrine, Mikami, Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture, and was designated an Important Cultural Property on April 5, 1899 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a 3-bay romon gate with 1 doorway, with a hip-and-gable roof of cypress bark (hiwadabuki); its date field reads late Kamakura period (1275 to 1332); designation number 00089.

The same database's commentary, however, dates it to about 1365 from an ink inscription on a strut in the upper storey, and Yasu City and the shrine treat it as a Muromachi-period building. This article follows the date given by the inscription.

The Mikami Shrine Romon Gate stands at the southern entrance of the grounds; walking through it, you face the worship hall with the main hall directly behind (Mikami Shrine precinct map).

How the Gate Is Built

A romon is a gate with two storeys but only one roof, over the upper level. A projecting bracket tier (koshigumi) above the lower storey carries the balcony that runs around the upper one, which sets it apart from a double-roofed two-storey gate (nijumon) (Mikami Shrine).

Both storeys are 3 bays wide and 2 bays deep, with the upper posts set closer together than the lower ones (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The 3-bay front with a single central passage is the most common arrangement for a romon (Mikami Shrine).

The gate is in the native Japanese style (wayo), but carved beam ends (kibana) on the upper tie beams borrow a detail from the Zen style (zenshuyo). Both storeys use three-stepped bracket sets (mitesaki); the upper ones lack the slanting tail rafters (odaruki) that normally accompany them, an unusual feature (Mikami Shrine).

Why It Is an Important Cultural Property

The Agency for Cultural Affairs values the Mikami Shrine Romon Gate, with the main hall, the worship hall and the Wakamiya Shrine main hall, for preserving the look of a fourteenth-century shrine precinct.

Its date rests on an ink inscription on the back of a strut in the upper storey, written in kana as the fifth year of Koan, a kinoto-mi year in the sexagenary cycle, which corresponds to 1365. Since the details also fit that period, the gate is thought to be a Muromachi-period building (Mikami Shrine). Unlike the main hall and worship hall, which can only be dated by style, it carries its own written record.

On April 5, 1899, together with the main hall and worship hall, it was listed as a Specially Protected Building under the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law and dismantled and repaired with a state grant (Mikami Shrine). The Agency's database records that date as its designation date. The Mikami Shrine Romon Gate was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1899.

What to Look For

Stop in front of the gate and look up. The two tiers of bracket sets stack one above the other, and because the upper posts are set closer, the whole gate seems to taper slightly as it rises.

The upper brackets have no tail rafters. Three-stepped bracket sets exist to carry deep eaves and usually come with that diagonal lever arm; here it is left out, a feature the shrine itself singles out as unusual.

Notice the carved beam ends at the tips of the tie beams as well, a Zen-style touch slipped quietly into an otherwise native design.

Visiting the Gate

The Mikami Shrine Romon Gate is on the path every visitor takes, and its exterior can be seen whenever the grounds are open. The grounds are open for worship 24 hours a day, free of charge (Mikami Shrine; Yasu Tourism Association).

There is no indication that visitors can climb to the upper storey, and no official information on access to it was found. No photography rule specific to the gate is posted.

Directions and general visiting information are on the Mikami Shrine page.