page_title: Itsukushima Shrine
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Itsukushima Shrine / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: the honden of Itsukushima-jinja, Miyajima, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan w:ja:厳島神社本殿（広島県廿日市市）
context_page_description: Itsukushima Shrine is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima, best known for its "floating" torii gate. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
  The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its aesthetic ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it. The complex is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and six of its buildings and possessions have been designated by the Japanese government as National Treasures.
  The torii gate is currently covered entirely by semi-transparent scaffolding while it is undergoing restoration works in preparation for the 2020 Olympics which is scheduled to take place in 2021.
context_section_description: Japan has gone to great lengths to preserve the twelfth-century-style architecture of the Shrine throughout history. The shrine was designed and built according to the Shinden-zukuri style,  equipped with pier-like structures over the Matsushima bay in order to create the illusion of floating on the water, separate from island, which could be approached by the devout "like a palace on the sea." This idea of intertwining architecture and nature is reflective of a popular trend during the 16th century as well as the Heian period in which Japanese structures tended to "follow after their environment," often allowing trees, water, and other forms of natural beauty to enter into the decor of homes and buildings. This led to a far more intimate relationship between the two.
  The most recognizable and celebrated feature of the Itsukushima shrine, is its fifty-foot tall vermilion otorii gate ("great gate"), built of decay-resistant camphor wood,   . The placement of an additional leg in front of and behind each main pillar identifies the torii as reflecting the style of Ryōbu Shintō (dual Shinto), a medieval school of esoteric Japanese Buddhism associated with the Shingon Sect.  The torii appears to be floating only at high tide. When the tide is low, it is only approachable by foot from the island. Gathering shellfish near the gate is also popular at low tide. At night, powerful lights on the shore illuminate the torii .Although the gate has been in place since 1168, the current gate dates back only to 1875.
  Shinto architecture has many distinct parts, most of which include the shrine's honden (main hall) and the unusually long haiden (main oratory), and its equally long heiden (offertory hall). The honden "is an eight-by-four bay structure with a kirizuma roof surfaced in cypress bark." Its walls are decorated in white stucco; they were constructed using a process requiring fifteen coats of white stucco, with vermilion woodwork.
  Extending from the sides of the haraiden of the main shrine is a noh stage which dates from 1590.  Noh theater performances have long been used to pay homage to the gods through the ritual acting out of key events in Shinto myth.
  On September 5, 2004, the shrine was severely damaged by Typhoon Songda. The boardwalks and roof were partially destroyed, and the shrine was temporarily closed for repairs. Today anyone can go visit the shrine for only 300 yen.
caption: Itsukushima honden
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