at Ise, the inner shrine, the Naigū or Naikū, dedicated to the Heaven-Great-Shining Kami, Ama-terasu-ō-mi-Kami, and the outer shrine, the Gegū or Gekū, dedicated to the Plentiful-Food-August-Goddess, Toyo-uke-hime, which are located at some distance from each other but are very similar in style. They are surrounded by a series of fences which separate the sacred precinct from the outer world. The sanctuary itself is in this way completely cut off from the general public, who can approach but not enter it, a privilege reserved for the priests and special guests like the emperor. In this way the sanctuary is much like the Greek temple which was also looked upon as a dwelling place of the god. Behind the main building are two smaller structures, which serve as treasure houses in which the sacred relics and offerings are kept. The three inner fences have gates while the outermost enclosure is approached through a torii, a kind of Shinto sacred gateway, which is still one of the main distinguishing marks of a Shinto shrine. It consists of two pillars topped by two horizontal bars. The lower one extends between the pillars like the crossbar of an H, while the upper one, which rests on the top of the pillars, projects beyond them with slanting ends. Here again the simplest of forms is combined with great beauty of proportion. Japanese tradition has it that these torii were built for birds to perch on, but obviously this is a later rationalistic explanation for something which is far more ancient, probably a ceremonial gateway of the type found in India at Sanchi and Barhut and which is common to many early civilizations.
The main building, a rectangular wooden structure with gables at both ends and a large thatched roof, was no doubt originally derived from a palace (Plate 10). The building rests upon heavy piers which are rammed into the earth without laying any foundation. The floor level is raised above the ground so that there is an open space between the earth and the floor; the walls consist of simple, unpainted boards and are surrounded by an open veranda. The entrance at Ise, in contrast to other shrines, such as the one at Izumo, is on the long side rather than at the gable end, and there is a staircase leading from the ground to the entrance. The building faces south, the direction of the sun, just as the Chinese palaces and temples do.
Perhaps the most beautiful as well as the most characteristic part of the Shinto shrine is the magnificent thatched roof. Here the architect employs two features which are unique to the Shinto shrine, namely the chigi, or rafters crossing at the gable with the ridge lying in the angle of the crutches formed by the rafters, and the katsuogi, or the horizontal logs resting upon the ridge to hold it in place. Both the chigi and the katsuogi are still used in most Shinto shrines today and, together with the torii, enable even the uninitiated to distinguish between a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine, although there are cases when the architectural styles are mixed. This is especially true in later Shinto shrines, which absorb more and more of Buddhist temple architecture. Another feature, typical of Ise Shrine and very ancient, is the additional free-standing pillar at the gable end of the building, which is designed to help support the ridge and suggests that the roof might well have projected much farther in the original structures, as is indicated by the archaic pictures on the mirrors and dotaku. The interior of the shrine is extremely plain, for it was not used as a place of assembly or group worship but was looked upon as a dwelling place of the Sun Goddess, where her symbol, the divine mirror, was kept.
Plate 1. Clay Vessel. Jōmon period..
Plate 2. Head of Idol. Middle Jōmon period.
Plate 3. Head of Idol. Middle Jōmon period.
Plate 4. Clay Vessel. Yayoi period
Plate 5. Haniwa Dancers. Grave Mound period
Plate 6. Haniwa Horse's Head. Grave Mound period.
Plate 7. Haniwa Warrior. Grave Mound period.
Plate 8. Bronze Mirror. Grave Mound period.
Plate 9. Dōtaka. Yayoi period
Plate 10. Honden, Ise Shrine, Ujiyamada. (based on prehistoric design)
Although it is the most ancient and sacred of Shinto shrines, Ise Shrine is undoubtedly only one of many such shrines built at the period. A record of A.D. 737 tells us that there were no less than three thousand officially recognized shrines at that time. Of the ones surviving today, the next most famous is Izumo Shrine located on the Japan Sea coast of Honshu and built in a style known as taisha zukuri, which differs in some respects from the one used at Ise. The main difference lies in the fact that the entrance is at the gable end, but there is also a central pillar in the interior and the floor is somewhat higher above the ground. However, the general design and style are the same in both, although Ise Shrine is believed to be more authentic, while Izumo Shrine already shows some influence of Chinese Buddhist temples. Both, however, are typical of the native tradition of Japanese architecture. They represent the first examples of a truly national art, and it is characteristic of the traditional-minded Japanese society that they have been rebuilt again and again in the style which was first developed two thousand years ago.
2
The Beginnings of
Buaakist Art in Japan
ALTHOUGH Chinese culture had influenced Japan even during the prehistoric period, it was not until the introduction of Buddhism that the entire Japanese civilization became permeated with Chinese culture. The period during which this event took place is called the Asuka period (A.D. 552 to A.D. 645), a name taken from the place where the capital was located, or the Suiko period (593 to 628), after the empress whose rule was the most illustrious of the era. This age, which marked a complete revolution in the civilization of Japan, is important not only because of the introduction of Buddhism but also because of all the other aspects of Chinese culture, especially Confucian learning and the written language, which came in along with the religion. In fact, it may well be said that the history of Japan as we think of it today starts with the events of this period.
The arrival in 552 of a mission from the Korean kingdom of Paikche, or in Japanese, Kudara, is usually considered the starting point of this development. They brought Buddhist images, banners, canopies, and scriptures, as well as a message from their king which said in part:
This teaching (dharma) is the most excellent of all teachings; it brings endless and innumerable blessings to all believers, even unto attainment of Enlightenment (Bodhi) without comparison. Moreover, it has come to Korea from far-off India, and the peoples of the countries lying between are now zealous followers of it and none is outside the pale.
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