Ōsaki Hachiman-gū
Encyclopedia
is a Shinto shrine in Aoba-ku
, Sendai, Miyagi
, Japan
. The has been designated a National Treasure of Japan
.
. Craftsmen in the service of the Toyotomi family
executed the order and built the shrine from 1604 to 1607. At the start of the Meiji period
the shrine was called Ōsaki Hachiman Jinja. In consideration of historical circumstances, the original name was reinstated in June 1997. On November 22, 1952, the shaden was designated as National Treasure.
architecture. It is a single-storied structure consisting of a main sanctuary (honden
) and a worship hall (haiden
) which are joined via a connecting passage called ishi-no-ma. All three structures are under a single roof which is covered with shake shingles
.
The honden is a 5 ken
by 3 ken structure with a hip-and-gable, irimoya
style roof to which a simple gabled roof of the 1 ken by 1 ken ishi-no-ma connects. The haiden is also 3 ken wide. The structure is 7 ken long at the front and 5 ken at the back where the ishi-no-ma is attached. Its roof is like that of the honden of the hip-and-gable type. On the front it has an attached triangular dormer
with a decorative bargeboard
of strongly concave shape, a . The entrance is covered by a 5 ken wide step canopy with an undulating karahafu gable at eave ends (nokikarahafu).
Aoba-ku, Sendai
is one of five wards of Sendai, the largest city in the Tōhoku region of Japan. Aoba-ku encompasses 302.28 km² and had a population of 282,903 as of August 1, 2005.-Infrastructure:...
, Sendai, Miyagi
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The has been designated a National Treasure of Japan
National treasures of Japan
National Treasures are the most precious of Japan's Tangible Cultural Properties, as determined and designated by the Agency for Cultural Affairs...
.
History
The construction of the present shaden was ordered by Date MasamuneDate Masamune
was a regional strongman of Japan's Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai...
. Craftsmen in the service of the Toyotomi family
Toyotomi clan
Originating in Owari Province, the served as retainers to the Oda clan throughout 16th-century Japan's Sengoku period. -Unity and Conflict:The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan." Oda Nobunaga was another primary unifier and the...
executed the order and built the shrine from 1604 to 1607. At the start of the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
the shrine was called Ōsaki Hachiman Jinja. In consideration of historical circumstances, the original name was reinstated in June 1997. On November 22, 1952, the shaden was designated as National Treasure.
Architecture
The shaden is the oldest extant structure and an example of Azuchi-MomoyamaAzuchi-Momoyama period
The came at the end of the Warring States Period in Japan, when the political unification that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate took place. It spans the years from approximately 1573 to 1603, during which time Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, imposed order...
architecture. It is a single-storied structure consisting of a main sanctuary (honden
Honden
The , is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined kami, usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue. The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of its usually stands the haiden, or...
) and a worship hall (haiden
Haiden (Shinto)
In Shinto shrine architecture, the is the hall of worship or oratory. It is generally placed in front of the shrine's main sanctuary and often built on a larger scale than the latter. The haiden is often connected to the honden by a heiden, or hall of offerings...
) which are joined via a connecting passage called ishi-no-ma. All three structures are under a single roof which is covered with shake shingles
Shake (shingle)
A shake is a basic wooden shingle that is made from split logs. Shakes have traditionally been used for roofing and siding applications around the world. Higher grade shakes are typically used for roofing purposes, while the lower grades are used for siding purposes...
.
The honden is a 5 ken
Ken (architecture)
A is a measurement in Japanese architecture. It has two principal uses:* As a proportion for intervals between the pillars of traditional-style buildings. The word is translated in this case in English as "bay". Traditional buildings usually measure an odd number of bays, for example 3×3 or 5×5...
by 3 ken structure with a hip-and-gable, irimoya
Irimoya
A xieshan style or roof in Japanese architecture is a hip roof integrated on two opposing sides with a gable. It can be also described in English as a hip-and-gable, gablet, or Dutch gable roof...
style roof to which a simple gabled roof of the 1 ken by 1 ken ishi-no-ma connects. The haiden is also 3 ken wide. The structure is 7 ken long at the front and 5 ken at the back where the ishi-no-ma is attached. Its roof is like that of the honden of the hip-and-gable type. On the front it has an attached triangular dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
with a decorative bargeboard
Bargeboard
Bargeboard is a board fastened to the projecting gables of a roof to give them strength and to mask, hide and protect the otherwise exposed end of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof to which they were attached...
of strongly concave shape, a . The entrance is covered by a 5 ken wide step canopy with an undulating karahafu gable at eave ends (nokikarahafu).