Izumo Grand Shrine: Changes to the Main Sanctuary 出雲大社：本殿の変化

Despite this new evidence, the exact appearance of the thirteenth-century sanctuary remains hard to determine. This is evident in the five different 1/50-scale models displayed in the exhibit; each one represents a different architect’s interpretation of how the sanctuary might have looked.

The models show the main sanctuary painted red—a reflection of the influence of Buddhist architectural practices. Between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, Izumo Grand Shrine was closely affiliated with a nearby Tendai Buddhist temple. The museum gallery contains a diorama of the shrine precincts in 1609: the main sanctuary and other shrine buildings painted red, and a three-story pagoda (a traditionally Buddhist structure) standing on the shrine grounds.

During a major rebuilding of the shrine in 1667, a conscious effort was made to reduce Buddhist influence in the shrine’s architecture. The new main sanctuary and surrounding structures were left unpainted, and the shrine’s bell tower (another feature common to Buddhist temples) was demolished. The bell from the tower and the shrine’s grand three-story pagoda were donated to other religious institutions. These substantial changes in the shrine’s appearance are evident in another diorama, this one portraying the shrine as it looked in 1667. The current main sanctuary, constructed in 1744, looks very similar to the one from 1667.

While in past centuries the main sanctuary was periodically rebuilt, there has been no new construction since 1744—particularly once the current structure was designated a National Treasure in 1952. Instead, extensive maintenance is performed roughly every 60 years. This occurred most recently in 2013, when the sanctuary’s cypress-bark roof was replaced. On the rear wall of the gallery, visitors can view an immense forked finial and billet that adorned the roof from 1881 until 1953.