uzubashira 珍柱

Also written 宇豆柱. The pillars at center, front, and rear of the main prayer hall *honden 本殿 in structures constructed in the taisha style *taisha-zukuri 大社造. These pillars have about the same diameter as the center *shin-no-mibashira 心の御柱. The uzubashira are placed on the same axis as the center pillar, and all three pillars are larger than the other pillars on the perimeter of the building. The large pillars at each end of the building extend further out than the corner pillars, but they are not free-standing like the roof-supporting pillars *munamochi-bashira 棟持柱 found in the common shinmei style *shinmei-zukuri 神明造 structures. It is thought that they may be vestiges of ridge-supporting pillars because they extend from the ground to beneath the ridge. Example: Izumo Taisha Honden 出雲大社本殿, Shimane Prefecture.