gaien　外苑

KEY WORD :　architecture / general terms

Lit. outer garden. The area outside the sacred enclosure of a shrine, mausoleum, or temple. Typically, the approach to the inner shrine is through the gaien which serves as a transitional space between secular and sacred realms. Although often planted with trees to create a sacred forest reminiscent of a grove deep in the mountains, in recent years the gaien of large urban shrines have been developed into parks. Meiji Jinguu 明治神宮 in Tokyo is a good example.

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