What the Building Is
Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor is a service building of 1900 in Hiezu, Tottori Prefecture, listed as Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 November 2018. Timber, single storey, copper roof, 33 square metres.
Shinsen are the food offerings set before the deities, and this is the building where they are prepared and kept. It stands south-facing, linked to the east side of the worship hall by a covered walkway. The hall itself is three bays by two under a gabled roof entered from the gable end, with a doorway on the west face.
The interior divides by use. The front part is an earth-floored work area; the back is raised high and floored with tatami. Staff work in outdoor footwear at one end and handle the offerings at the other, under a single roof. Repairs were carried out in 1976.
Why It Was Listed
The registration number is 31-0260. The Agency for Cultural Affairs presents Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor as evidence of the functional reorganisation that a shrine underwent in the modern era.
Giving the preparation of offerings its own building, then connecting that building to the worship hall by a covered walk, translates the order of a rite into the plan of a precinct. The Kagura Hall, the Treasury and the Zuishin Gate went up the same year, 1900, and this structure belongs to the same campaign of work.
Hiezu Village gives two grounds for the listing of the group. One is the singularity of the 1868 sanctuary; the other is exactly this functional arrangement. The Edo-period worship hall stayed, and buildings for each separate task were set around it.
What to Look For
The corridor is the striking part of Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor. Four bays long and one bay wide, it curves gently along its whole length instead of running straight to the hall. Seen from the east, a thin bowed gap opens between it and the eaves of the worship hall.
The hall itself carries no ornament. A gable end serves as the front, and the composition comes down to the pitch of the roof against a plain wall. Coming east after the elaborate frontage of the worship hall, the contrast within one precinct is hard to miss.
The west doorway was placed for the route along which offerings are carried in. The break between earth floor and raised tatami cannot be seen from outside, but the difference in floor level shows in where the windows sit.
Visiting
Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor is closed internally, corridor included, and visitors see it from outside.
The east side of the worship hall is the place to stand. The curve of the walkway reads best side on, and stepping back far enough to include the gable end of the hall shows how the two parts relate. On festival days offerings are carried through, so keep clear of the route.
Photographing the exterior is not normally an issue; ask at the shrine office on 0859-27-2518 about photographs aimed inside or about tripods. Directions and the conditions of entry for the precinct are set out on the Kayashima Shrine page.
Q&A
- What is Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor used for?
- It is where the food offerings placed before the deities are prepared and stored. A covered walkway links it to the east side of the worship hall, so the route taken during a rite is built into the plan.
- When was it built?
- In 1900, with repairs in 1976. The Kagura Hall, the Treasury and the Zuishin Gate were built in the same year.
- Can I see inside Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor?
- No. The interior is closed, and that includes the corridor, so viewing is from outside.
- What is the corridor for?
- It is a covered walkway joining two buildings. Four bays by one, it curves along its length rather than running straight to the worship hall.
- Where is the best place to see it from?
- From the east side of the worship hall. The curve of the walkway shows best side on, and a few steps back brings the gable end of the hall into the same view.
Basic Information
| Name | Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor |
|---|---|
| Location | 354 Hiyoshizu, Hiezu Village, Saihaku District, Tottori Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2018/11/2 (Heisei 30) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Floor area 33 square metres |
| Owner | Kayashima Shrine (religious corporation) |
| Public Access | Precinct open; building interior closed |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Kayashima Shrine Food Preparation Hall and Corridor
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00012626
- Hiezu Village: About Kayashima Shrine
- https://www.hiezu.jp/list/kyouiku/e123/y114/a171/
- Hiezu Village: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Kayashima Shrine
- https://www.hiezu.jp/list/kyouiku/e123/y114/
- Tottori Prefecture Cultural Property Navigator: Kayashima Shrine
- https://db.pref.tottori.jp/bunkazainavi.nsf/bunkazai_web_view/BB16958A323A90D94925837F002C3D1C
Last verified: 2026.09.17
