Masha Temple

Masha Temple [ましゃ方; ましゃほら / Sunpaku: ましゃ・にじゃ, also known as Masha Shrine] is a 11th-century site of worship built by the Summui people in the city of Sakatta in Zōhai Prefecture. The temple is considered to be one of the most important religious establishments in the prefecture due to its age, its impressive preservation through the centuries, and the information it gives historians as to how the ancient islanders worshipped.
The temple was constructed on a hill in what is now Sakatta's northern ward; it is posited that the settlement was originally built around this structure and began as a temple town or horama. Masha is unique in the fact that it is built with wooden foundations, which is quite rare for any building on the Zōku archipelaego. Historians believe that other architectural details present in the building point to the influence and use of Chinese construction techniques. Although the interior has been refurbished and changed countless times through history, the original layout of the temple has survived completely.
Masha Temple is well-known for the Masha Bihon, or Masha holy book, a tome written possibly in the 1200s detailing a local myth surrounding two deities, Sunaro of the ocean and Ōmoni of the sky.
Category:Temples