hie-zukuri 日吉造

Keywords
Architecture
Shrines

Also called shōtei-zukuri or shōtai-zukuri 聖帝造 or sannō-zukuri 山王造. A unique style of shrine building found only on the main sanctuaries at Hie Taisha 日吉大社 (rebuilt late 16th century), Shiga Prefecture after having been burned down by Oda Nobunaga 織田信長 (1534-82) in 1571. Hie-zukuri buildings are the east and west hongū *honden 本宮本殿 and at the shrine's subsidiary, Sessha Usa Jingū Honden 摂社宇佐神宮本殿. Viewing these buildings from the front, they appear to have ordinary hip-and-gable roofs, with entrances in the center bays accessed from the step-canopies *kōhai 向拝 that are roofed by the extension of flying rafters *hien daruki 飛檐垂木 over the seven steps. The core *moya 母屋 of the building is 3 × 2 bays. Each structure has one-bay wide aisles *hisashi 廂 surrounding the core on three sides making it a 5 × 3 structure. Each building a little over 11 m × 6 m, with a three-sided hisashi plan that is characteristic of hie-zukuri. Without a hisashi across the back, there could be no hip extended to continue a normal hip-and-gable roof. Seen from the side, the rear eave *noki 軒 looks as if it were shorn off midway and the left and right hisashi were constructed in an extended eave *sugaruhafu 縋破風 style giving the rear roof a trapezoidal form. Other characteristic of the hie style is that the floors of the three buildings mentioned above are constructed unusually high above ground level allowing enough space for an enclosed room and a long plank-like bench underneath the floor. The proportion of pillars and non-penetrating tie beams *nageshi 長押 are large, the incline of the roof is steep and the eaves are high above the veranda floor. These buildings at Hie Taisha (also called Sannō Gongen 山王権現 or Sannō Nijūissha 山王二十一社) resemble temple buildings in the hip-and-gable roofs, in having moya and hisashi, a coved, coffered, finely latticed ceiling *oriage kogumi gōtenjō 折上小組格天井 over the place for the god, a board and batten ceiling *saobuchi tenjō 竿縁天井 around the rest of the moya, and an open ceiling *keshō yaneura 化粧屋根裏 in the hisashi. The floor of the moya is considerably higher than the mat covered tatamishiki 畳敷 hisashi. Front hisashi have board-backed latticed doors *shitomido 蔀戸 in all five front bay. The first bay on each side has plank doors *itakarado 板唐戸. The location of this shrine is in the foothills of Mt. Hiei on the side facing Lake Biwa 琵琶. Therefore, as the guardian shrine for the temple, Enrakuji 延暦寺 at the top of Mt. Hiei, the shrine has maintained a very close relationship with the Tendai 天台 sect temple. Slight differences between the east hongū honden and the west one are that the veranda behind the moya is particularly high and the main ridge is precisely centered in contrast to the west hongū honden which has a ridge slightly moved forward off center toward the front.