Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono (Connecting Hall)

What the Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono is

The Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono (有礒正八幡宮釣殿, Ariso Shō Hachimangū Tsuridono) is a 1935 connecting hall between the main hall and the offering hall of Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine in Yokota-machi, Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on March 2, 2006.

The word tsuridono literally reads "fishing hall," and in Heian-period palace architecture it named a pavilion built over a garden pond. In shrine architecture the same word is also used for a building that sits between the main hall and the worship and offering halls. That is its role here: the Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono as the space that links the main hall with the offering and worship halls.

It is a single-storey timber building roofed in copper sheet (Dōban-buki), 3 bays long and 2 bays wide, with a building area of 30 square meters. Its ridge runs north to south, at right angles to the east-west ridge of the main hall, so it reaches forward from the front of the main hall to the offering hall like a covered passage.

Why the Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono was registered

It was registered in the 49th round as number 16-0076, under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the nation.

The Agency values it as the link that shapes the shrine's appearance. Fifty-two years separate the 1883 main hall from the worship and offering hall of 1935. The Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono, built in the same year as the worship hall, is what turns the two into one continuous set of buildings.

What to look for at the Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono

Compare it with its neighbors and its plainness stands out. The posts are square, and they take the beams directly, with no bracket sets on top. Behind it, the main hall decorates its eaves with three-block brackets and Kaerumata struts; in front, the worship and offering hall piles up a many-gabled roof. Between the two, the tsuridono holds back, so the two very different designs never collide.

The openings between posts are fitted with Shitomido, lattice-backed shutters hinged at the top that swing outward and up to open, and bamboo blinds (misu) hang on the inside, so opened shutters let light filter in through the blinds.

Its floor is set at the same height as the offering hall, so one level floor runs on from the offering hall into the tsuridono. A veranda with a Kōran railing runs along both sides.

Visiting the Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono

The Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine Tsuridono is the ritual route to the sanctuary and its interior is not open. Since it stands behind the worship and offering hall, it cannot be seen from the front of the approach. To see the shutters and side verandas, look from the side of the shrine buildings as far as access allows, following any guidance from the shrine office.

The shrine has published no general photography rule. Avoid taking pictures during ceremonies or prayers, and do not touch the veranda or railings. Directions and visiting conditions for the grounds are on the Ariso Sho Hachimangu Shrine page.