Portal:Architecture/Selected article/2007-32

Ise Shrine Japan

The Ise Shrine (Ise-jingū 伊勢神宮) is a Shinto shrine to the goddess Amaterasu ōmikami, located in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture, Japan. The architectural style of the Ise shrine is known as Shinmeizukuri (神明造) and may not be used in the construction of any other shrine. The old shrines are dismantled and new ones built to exacting specifications every 20 years at exorbitant expense, so that the buildings will be forever new and forever ancient and original. The present buildings, dating from 1993, are the 61st iteration to date and are scheduled for rebuilding in 2013.

According to the official chronology, the shrines were originally constructed in the year 4 BC, but most historians date them from several hundred years later, with 690 AD widely considered the date when the shrines were first built in their current form. Legends say that Naikū was established by Yamatohime-no-mikoto. The shrines are mentioned in the annals of the Kojiki and Nihonshoki (dating from 712 and 720, respectively).

The design of Ise Shrine dates back to before the introduction of Buddhism and Chinese influence on architecture, meaning that it represents an intriguing example of what Japanese architecture was before these more recent influences superseded the indigenous architecture of the Japanese archipelago. The buildings are made of natural wood, with the distinctive roof beams consisting of the Chigi, which protrude like horns over the ridge of the roof and on free-standing columns at either gabled end, and the Katsuogi, which are short logs laid horizontally across the ridge of the roof. Overall, the style looks somewhat reminiscent of Polynesian architecture. (more...) Archive - Nominations