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Main sanctuary (honden) of Hie Shrine
Main sanctuary (honden) of Hie Shrine
Municipally Designated Important Cultural Property (designated 2004)
Made: Rebuilt in Tenmei 4(1784)
Location: Hie Shrine, Senzu, Ushimado
Although the shrine’s original date of construction is unknown, the current building is from 1784, when it was rebuilt by IKEDA Munemasa (1727-64), lord of Okayama domain.
The shrine, located in the grounds of Kōbōji Temple, next to Senji Shrine, enshrines the deity ‘Hiyoshigami’. In the Middle Ages, Hie Shrine was known as ‘Sanno Gongen’, Sanno being another name for the god, or ‘kami’, ‘Hiyoshi’.
Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Shiga prefecture, itself once known as Hie Taisha, is the head temple that governs all Hie shrines in Japan and retains documents that make it clear that Setouchi City’s Hie Shrine houses the regional guardian deity of Kōbōji Temple. Furthermore, Setouchi City’s Hie Shrine is a valuable historical resource that gives us a window onto how such shrines were positioned and their architectural style during the syncretization of Shinto and Buddhism in the mid-Edo period.
Due to the shrine’s narrow profile, the roof seems overly large when compared to the main building, removing any sense of overall balance. Nevertheless, when viewed from outside, the actual form of the roof and construction of the building’s façade are both first-rate.
