Nagata Shrine Main Hall

A Late Edo Sanctuary at the Back of the Precinct

The Nagata Shrine Main Hall (長田神社本殿, Nagata Jinja Honden) is a late Edo-period shrine building at the rear of Nagata Shrine in Higashimachi 1-chome, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture; it was moved here from the shrine's former site in 1924 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 2 November 2018. It is a small single-storey timber building with a copper roof and a footprint of just 17 square metres.

The honden, the hall that houses the deities, faces west. The heihaiden, where worshippers pray, stands in front of it, and the two are linked through the middle gate set into the lattice fence. That fence, 41 metres long, runs all the way round, so visitors look at the building from outside it.

Its date is disputed. The Agency for Cultural Affairs gives "late Edo", a range of 1751 to 1830. The shrine cites a ridge tag recording a rebuilding in 1741 by the domain lord Ikeda Munayasu, while the Tottori Association of Shinto Shrines says the present main hall went up in 1788. Whichever date is right, this is a building of the Tottori domain era, carried across town when the shrine moved in the 1920s.

The Only One Registered as a Model of Form

Of the eight registered structures at Nagata Shrine, the Nagata Shrine Main Hall is the only one listed under the criterion for buildings that serve as a model of form. The other seven were registered for their contribution to the historic landscape. In other words, this is the one building whose design was judged on its own merits. Its registration number, 31-0246, heads the series.

The roof is hip-and-gable, with a triangular Chidori-hafu gable on the front slope. Below it projects a Kōhai, a porch roof for worshippers, finished with a Noki-karahafu, the bow-shaped cusped gable at the eave. The plan is one bay across the front and two bays deep, and a veranda with a railing runs round all four sides.

The Agency's description dwells on the eaves. They are double-layered with closely spaced rafters, and the bracketing is stepped out one level, the arrangement called Degumi, only at the corners. Over the porch, the rafters that span to the main roof are given a gentle upward swell, which softens the line. Tottori Prefecture singles out this elegant treatment of the front eaves as the defining feature of the Nagata Shrine Main Hall.

According to the shrine, the swallowtail butterfly crest of the Ikeda lords appears throughout the building, a reminder that it was built under the domain and that the shrine served successive castle lords as their guardian shrine.

What to Look For at the Main Hall

Start with the roofs. The triangle of the chidori-hafu and, below it, the curving karahafu stack one above the other, giving the front of this small hall real depth. Seen through the diamond-section slats of the fence, their outlines are cut into strips.

Next, follow the porch eave. The swell in its rafters shows best from an angle rather than head on, so walk round outside the fence and look from the northwest or southwest corner.

The corners are also where you can check the bracketing. Because only the corner brackets step out, the eave projects slightly differently there than along the sides; compare the two.

Finally, glance back at the heihaiden. It uses square posts and very little ornament, and that plainness makes the Nagata Shrine Main Hall behind it look all the richer.

Visiting the Main Hall

The Nagata Shrine Main Hall stands inside the lattice fence, and visitors cannot enter the enclosure; Tottori Prefecture lists the interior as closed. Because the heihaiden and middle gate line up in front of it, you cannot see it squarely from the front. Walk along the fence to view the sides and the building at an angle.

The shrine allows ordinary souvenir photography, but follow the priests' instructions during prayers or weddings. The shrine also says it is carrying out repairs to the main hall and other buildings to mark the centenary of the move, so at times scaffolding or covers may obscure parts of it. Directions and general visiting information are on the Nagata Shrine page.