Jinja Kenchiku No Katachi (Shodensha Shinsho)

[Machine Translation] It is said that there are more than 100,000 Shinto shrines throughout Japan. Japanese people's daily lives are still connected to shrines through events such as Hatsumode (New Year's visits to shrines) and festivals, and through visits to shrines when traveling. One of the reasons why people feel the dignity and sanctity of shrines lies in their architecture. In this book, an architectural historian and associate professor at the University of Tokyo provides an introduction to shrine architecture, focusing on the architectural form of the main hall. The book introduces the world of Japanese mythology, the composition of torii gates and shrine grounds, the history of the syncretism of Shintoism and Buddhism, the mechanism of shikinen-zukai, and the skills of the craftsmen responsible for the construction. Most shrine architecture is simple, but it is interesting to understand the ideas and meanings that reside in the details. If you visit a shrine with this book in hand, the familiar scenery of the shrine grounds will look different from what you are used to.

全国に一〇万社以上あると言われる神社。初詣や祭りなどの行事、旅先での参詣など、日本人の暮らしは今も神社と結びついている。なぜ人は神社の空間に威厳や神聖さを感じるのか―その理由のひとつは建築にある。本書は、東京大学准教授の建築史家が本殿の建築形式を軸に神社建築を読み解く入門書である。日本神話の世界、鳥居や境内の構成、神仏習合の歴史、式年造替のしくみ、建築を担う匠の技などを紹介し、建築物のカタチに込められた日本独自の信仰と自然観を明らかにする。神社建築の多くは簡素な造りだが、細部に宿る思想や意味が分かると面白い。本書を手に神社を訪れれば、見慣れた境内の風景がこれまでとは違って見えるはずだ。