Keywords
Architecture
Shrines
Also read noraidono, gesaiden 解斎殿. A shrine building to which priests retire after performing the Shinto ritual of offering food and drink to the gods. There they eat the left-overs. Originally the word naorai 直会 referred to the relaxation enjoyed by the priests following the tensions incurred during the performance of the sacred rites. The naoraiden has been referred to as kujōden 九丈殿, gojōden 五丈殿 and yojōden 四丈殿 suggesting that typically they were probably long and narrow structures. The one at Kamo Wakeikazuchi Jinja 賀茂別雷神社 in Kyoto (Edo period), is 8 bays long and 1 to 1 1/2 bays wide. Examples: Kamo Wakeikazuchi Jinja Naoraiden (1628) in Kyoto. Kasuga Taisha Honsha Naoraiden 春日大社本社直会殿 (1650-51) in Nara.