haiden　拝殿
KEY WORD :　architecture / shrines
　
A worship hall at a Shinto shrine, usually placed on the same axis as the offering hall *heiden 幣殿 and the main sanctuary *honden 本殿. Scholarly opinion varies as to the origin of the hall. The most likely possibilities are : 1) The haiden was derived from either the *raidou 礼堂 (worship hall in Buddhist temples) and was first called *raiden 礼殿 at shrines ; 2) the hall was derived from the *maidono 舞殿, a stage used to perform ritual dance and music ; 3) the hall was devived from the ancient Buddhist practice of reciting sutras from the middle gate *chuumon 中門 or from the attached semi-enclosed corridors *kairou 回廊. Some shrines built in mountainous areas have only a haiden because deities are thought to live in the surrounding mountains. Examples: Oomiwa Jinja 大神神社 in Nara, Kanasana Jinja 金鑚神社 in Saitama prefecture.
　

a) haiden 拝殿 　b) *honden 本殿
Miho Jinja 美保神社 (Shimane)

　
REFERENCES:
*warihaiden 割拝殿, *yokohaiden 横拝殿, *tatehaiden 縦拝殿, *seihoukei haiden 正方形拝殿.
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