misedana-zukuri 見世棚造

Also written 店棚造. Also dashimise-zukuri 出し店造. A very small shrine building, one bay wide, within the precincts of a larger shrine. Usually near the main sanctuary *honden 本殿, it is characterized by the absence of front entrance steps leading to the doors of the sanctum. Usually the misedana-zukuri is 1 x 1 bay *ikkensha-zukuri 一間社造 (approximately 60 × 150 cm), but some are 1 x 2 bays, nikensha 二間社, 1 x 3 bays, sangensha 三間社, and at least one is 1 x 7 bays shichigensha 七間社. 

Instead of the steps, a shelf *tana 棚, is extended from approximately the level of the sanctuary itself to provide access to the shrine. These buildings usually have an elongated eave style gable *nagare-zukuri 流造, and have front eaves that project considerably to give additional support. Examples are found at Hakusan Jinja 白山神社 (1305) in Nagano Prefecture. The elongated eave is supported by posts that have boat-shaped brackets *funahijiki 船肘木, and an eave purlin *dashigeta 出桁. At Nishina Shinmeigū 仁科神明宮 in Nagano Prefecture, the misedana-zukuri has simple gable roofs *kirizuma yane 切妻屋根, and for that reason no added support is necessary for the front eave. The shelf rests on extended tie beams that run from the rear posts to the front posts. 

Shrines in misedana style are placed on sills or footplates *dodai 土台, usually with their ends extended. The use of footplates as a base for very small shrines may have existed before the method of sinking pillars directly into the ground *hottatebashira 堀立柱, or placing pillars on base stones. See *mikoshiyadori 御輿舎. It is believed that like small shrines in the Kasuga style *kasuga-zukuri 春日造, misedana-zukuri shrines may have rested on footplates so that they could be transferred easily to a different location. In any case, such small shrines, especially those constructed on footplates, would have been an ideal place in which to house a deity who was believed to be among the people for only a short time during a festival. 

Examples include: Ōkuwamura Hakusan Jinja Honden 大桑村白山神社本殿; Nishina Shinmeigū Keidaisha 仁科神明宮境内社; Hakusan Jinja Honden 白山神社本殿 (1334), 1 x 1 bay, all in Nagano Prefecture; Nishigōri Jinja Sessha Tenjinja Honden 錦織神社摂社天神社本殿 (1363) in Osaka ; Kongōbuji Sannōin Honden Sōja 金剛峯寺山王院本殿総社 (after 1523) in Wakayama Prefecture, 3 × 1 bays with 1-bay deep peripheral area *hisashi 廂, across the front forming the shelf, and Nangū Jinja Sessha Shichiōji Jinja Honden 南宮神社摂社七王子神社本殿 (1642) in Gifu Prefecture, 7 x 1 bays. See *senzasai 遷座祭.