Mikami Shrine Main Hall

A Kamakura Shrine Hall Built Like a Buddhist Temple

The Mikami Shrine Main Hall (御上神社本殿, Mikami Jinja Honden) is the late Kamakura-period main hall of Mikami Shrine in Mikami, Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture; it was designated an Important Cultural Property on April 5, 1899, and a National Treasure on November 22, 1952 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a single-storey hall 3 bays by 3 bays with a hip-and-gable (irimoya) roof of cypress bark (hiwadabuki) and a 1-bay front porch (kohai), dated to the late Kamakura period (1275 to 1332); designation number 00081. A shrine cabinet (zushi) inside is included in the designation as an attached item, added in 1952 according to Yasu City.

The Mikami Shrine Main Hall stands at the far end of the line formed by the gate and the worship hall, with the auxiliary Wakamiya Shrine to its left and the auxiliary Sannomiya Shrine to its right (Mikami Shrine precinct map). Locally its distinctive form is sometimes called the Mikami style (Yasu Tourism Association).

How the Main Hall Is Built

The plan is three bays square. The central one-bay square forms the inner sanctum (naijin), with board doors at the front, and a one-bay aisle runs around it under exposed rafters. The outer posts are evenly spaced, while the sanctum posts are set slightly wider apart (Mikami Shrine).

Inside, the sanctum floor is raised by the height of a horizontal tie beam. Behind it, a board wall across three bays closes off a lower rear room entered from the back of the building. The cabinet in the sanctum is thought to date from the Muromachi period (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The exterior uses plaster walls and latticed windows (renji-mado), elements taken from Buddhist halls (Mikami Shrine). Simple boat-shaped bracket arms (funahijiki) sit only on the corner posts, both of the sanctum and of the outer frame; the posts in between carry none.

On the porch, three-bearing bracket sets top the posts, and a frog-leg strut (kaerumata) sits at the center. Its inner carving has been lost, yet with the brackets it still looks robust. The curved braces (tabasami) linking the porch to the hall are of an unusual shape (Mikami Shrine; Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Is a National Treasure

According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, neither the founding of the shrine nor the construction of the hall is documented, and the hall is dated to the Kamakura period on style. It is well proportioned and among the older surviving shrine buildings, and its design reads less as a typical shrine sanctuary than as a fusion with Buddhist architecture.

Placing bracket arms only on the corner posts was a technique common in modest Buddhist halls from the late Heian to the Kamakura period (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Together with the hip-and-gable roof, plaster walls and latticed windows, it shows concretely how a shrine sanctuary absorbed the vocabulary of a temple hall.

The stones under the veranda posts are carved with lotus petals, a rare treatment, and one bears an inscription of 1337. The veranda and porch appear to have been altered at that time, which places the hall itself earlier (Agency for Cultural Affairs; Mikami Shrine).

When it was named a National Treasure on November 22, 1952, it became, according to the shrine, the first shrine building in Shiga to receive that rank. The Mikami Shrine Main Hall was designated a National Treasure in 1952.

What to Look For

Look down at the base of the veranda. The shrine describes the row of post stones carved with downturned lotus petals as an impressive sight. The 1337 inscription is on the buried part of the stone at the front right corner, so it cannot be read from outside (Mikami Shrine).

At the front, study the braces and the frog-leg strut on the porch. The strut has lost its inner carving, but its outline is strong, and with the bracket sets above the posts it conveys the sturdy design of the Kamakura period.

Compare the roof with the worship hall in front. Both have hip-and-gable cypress-bark roofs and bracket arms only at the corners, and seen together they clearly belong to the same age and approach.

Visiting the Main Hall

The Mikami Shrine Main Hall stands behind the worship hall, and its exterior can be seen from the grounds when you visit. The grounds are open for worship 24 hours a day, free of charge (Mikami Shrine; Yasu Tourism Association). No official information was found on how close visitors may approach the hall.

The interior is normally closed. On August 22, 2026, a special viewing organized by the Yasu City board of education with the shrine admitted about 30 people chosen by lottery, guided by staff of the Shiga prefectural cultural properties division (Mikami Shrine). Watch the shrine's and the city's announcements for future opportunities.

No photography rule specific to the main hall is posted. Directions and general visiting information are on the Mikami Shrine page.