Shinmei-zukuri
History. Ancient shrines were constructed according to the style of dwellings (Izumo Taisha) or storehouses (Ise Grand Shrine). The buildings had gabled roofs, raised floors, plank walls, and were thatched with reed or covered with hinoki cypress bark. Such early shrines did not include a space for worship. Three important forms of ancient shrine architectural styles exist: "taisha-zukuri", "shinmei-zukuri", and "sumiyoshi-zukuri" They are exemplified by Izumo Taisha, Nishina Shinmei Shrine and Sumiyoshi Taisha respectively and date to before 552. According to the tradition of ", the buildings or shrines were faithfully rebuilt at regular intervals adhering  to the original design. In this manner, ancient styles have been replicated through the centuries to the present day. Structure. This style is characterized by an extreme simplicity. Its basic features can be seen in Japanese architecture from the Kofun period (250–538 C.E.) onwards and it is considered the pinnacle of Japanese traditional architecture. Built in plane-unfinished wood, the "honden" is either 3x2 "ken" or 1x1"ken" in size, has a raised floor, a gabled roof with an entry on one of the non-gabled sides (), no upward curve at the eaves, and purely decorative logs called "chigi" (vertical) and  katsuogi (horizontal) protruding from the roof's ridge. Because shrines used to be rebuilt every 20 years, as Ise Shrine still is, shrines of this type are mostly of recent construction. The oldest extant example is Nishina Shinmei Shrine, which gives the name to the style.