Omi Shrine Lattice Wall (south)

A Cypress Bark Fence With a Concrete Secret

Omi Jingu Sukibei, South Section (近江神宮透塀（南部）, also written Ōmi Jingū Sukibei Nanbu), a slatted enclosing fence at Omi Jingu in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, was built in 1940 and was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties in 1998.

A sukibei is a fence you can partly see through: solid at the base, open latticework above, roofed along its length. It marks a boundary without shutting out the view, which suits an enclosure meant to be sensed rather than sealed.

This section begins at the southern end of the wing corridor, defines the south face of the innermost enclosure, then turns and runs along the west side to meet the rear of the treasury storehouse. It measures 36 metres and is roofed, like the sanctuary, in cypress bark.

Reinforced Concrete, Installed in 1940

The Agency for Cultural Affairs record notes something that changes how you read this fence. The diagonal braces supporting it are made of reinforced concrete, and they date from the original construction.

That is not a later repair. In 1940, inside the most sacred enclosure of a newly founded imperial shrine, behind a roof of hand-laid cypress bark, the designers reached for concrete because concrete was the right material for a brace that has to hold a long thin fence upright against wind and slope for a very long time.

The Home Ministry's Shrine Bureau, whose architects Sunami Takashi and Tani Shigeo planned this complex, is often discussed in terms of tradition and national style. The braces here suggest something more practical was going on as well: traditional form where form is seen, modern material where the loads are.

In structure, scale, and form this section matches the north section. Both make the third bay from the near end a latticed sliding door. Registration came on 9 October 1998 under number 25-0063, with the criterion that it serves as a model of design.

Seeing It

Access is limited and it is fairer to say so directly. Worship at Omi Jingu takes place at the outer worship hall, and the innermost enclosure that this fence defines is not an area general visitors enter. From the outer hall you may see the cypress bark roof line of the fence running above the ground beyond, but a close view is not available on an ordinary visit.

What you can do from the outer hall is read the shape of the enclosure. The fence is what gives the sanctuary its sense of being held within something, and following its roof line with your eye tells you where the boundary lies even when the fence itself is mostly hidden.

For a latticed fence you can stand next to, the outer slatted fences near the north gate are the equivalent structures of the 1944 campaign, roofed in copper rather than cypress bark and built at a scale you can inspect.

The grounds are open 6:00 to 18:00 with no admission charge. Omi-jingu-mae station on the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto line is a nine-minute walk, and 200 free parking spaces are available outside the New Year period.