zuijinmon　随神門

KEY WORD :　architecture / gates

Middle gates *chuumon 中門 with statues of Zuijin 随神, shrine guards clothed in court dress and holding bows and arrows. Sometimes they are called yadaijin 矢大臣 or sadajin 左大臣 and are considered to be the gods who guard the gates, Kadomori-no-kami 門守の神. At Kibitsu Jinja 吉備津神社 (14c) in Okayama prefecture, zuijimon is an eight-legged gate *hakkyakumon 八脚門, with 3-bays and one entrance in the center bay and is in the hip-and-gable style *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造. The side bays have a board and batten ceiling *saobuchi tenjou 竿縁天井, but the center bay has an open ceiling *keshou yaneura 化粧屋根裏. The gable pediments are in the Zen style *zenshuuyou 禅宗様, and use rainbow beams *kouryou 虹梁, and bottle struts *taiheizuka 大瓶束. The bracket complexes are 3-on-1 and set at right angle to each other *demitsudo 出三斗. Examples include the south gate Minamizuijinmon 南随神門 (1357), and the north gate Kitazuijinmon 北随神門, at Kibitsu Jinja. They are both the same type, but the latter has a cyress bark roof hiwada-buki 桧皮葺. These gates are older than the main sanctuary, Honden 本殿, which is dated 1425. The *Youmeimon 陽明門 at Nikkou Toushouguu 日光東照宮 (1636) in Tochigi prefecture, is also a zuijinmon. The zuijinmon corresponds to the *nioumon 二王門 at various temples.

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