betsugū 別宮

Also bessha 別社, edamiya 枝宮, or edayashiro 枝社.

A god is enshrined or venerated as being especially honorable among the governed, *sessha 摂社. The building that enshrines the god is usually a branch shrine, often located at some distance from the main shrine. If it is built outside the precincts of the main shrine, it is called *keigaisha 境外社; if within the boundaries, it is called *keidaisha 境内社. Betsugū is very similar in meaning to sessha, ranked between a main shrine and a lower ranked shrine—a *massha 末社, shingū 新宮 (new shrine), or imamiya 今宮 (present day shrine)—but all refer basically to a branch shrine. There are many betsugū: fourteen at Ise Jingū 伊勢神宮 and ten at Kōtai Jingū 皇大神宮 alone. These so-called subordinate shrines receive gifts from the government as do the main shrines. The most revered shrines are reconstructed at regular intervals. Ise Jingū, for example, is reconstructed every twenty years. This custom is called shikinen sengū 式年遷宮. Such shrines are dedicated to the ancestors of the emperors who are enshrined as gods. Shrines are also situated at the site where an emperor was born. Examples: Ujikami Jinja Keidaisha 宇治上神社境内社 and Kasuga Jinja Honden 春日神社本殿 (13th century) in Kyoto, and Futarasan Jinja Betsugū Motomiya Jinja 二荒山神社別宮本宮神社 (17-18c) in Tochigi Prefecture.