Tamagaki

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the fence. For other uses, see Tamagaki (disambiguation).
A shrine surrounded by a tamagaki

A tamagaki (玉垣) is a fence surrounding a Japanese Shinto shrine, a sacred area or an imperial palace.[1] Believed to have been initially just a brushwood barrier of trees, tamagaki have since been made of a variety of materials including wood, stone and—in recent years—concrete. Depending on the material and technique utilized, such fences have a variety of names:

  • board fence (板玉垣, ita tamagaki) made of roughly finished thick boards,
  • unbarked lumber fence (黒木の玉垣, kuroki no tamagaki) made of unpeeled or unstripped boards or logs,
  • squared timber fence (角玉垣, kaku tamagaki),
  • squared lattice fence (角格子玉垣, kakugōshi tamagaki) and diagonal lattice fence (筋違格子玉垣, sujikaigōshi tamagaki),
  • vermillion fence (朱玉垣, shutamagaki),
  • tatehigo tamagaki (竪籤玉垣) made of vertically set thin strips of bamboo or wood,
  • see-through fence (透垣, sukashigaki)

The simple fences of ancient and medieval times became more elaborate in pre-modern Japan with the addition of roofs,

wainscoting and grilles between posts. An example is the 1636 Tōzai Sukibei (東西透塀) around the main sanctuary of Nikkō Tōshō-gū.[1][2]

If the enclosed area is surrounded by multiple fences, generally the innermost one is called mizugaki (瑞垣 or 瑞籬). The inner sanctuary (内宮, naikū) of

empress are generally allowed to enter through the innermost mizugaki fence.[nb 1][1][3][4]

The tamagaki and the traditional

shinbutsu shūgō
).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ An exception is made for the crown prince and princess who, on the occasion of their marriage, can enter the area enclosed by the mizugaki.

References

  1. ^ a b c Nobutaka, Inōe (2005-06-02). "Tamagaki". Encyclopedia of Shinto (β1.3 ed.). Tokyo: Kokugakuin University. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  2. JAANUS - Japanese Architecture and Art Net User System
    . Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  3. JAANUS - Japanese Architecture and Art Net User System
    . Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  4. ISBN 0-415-05754-X
    . Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  5. ISBN 4-8122-9805-9
    .
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