Shrine Buildings with Ridge Decoration

Izumo Taisha Shrine

The roof decorations on these buildings originated in architecture of the 1st - 6th centuries AD, when they might have had some practical value in holding a thatched roof together. Today they are only used on Shinto shrines. Chigi are the crossed finials at each end of the roof; katsuogi are short logs that are placed horizontally across the ridgepole.

The shrine's Hondo (Main Building), at photo left, is the tallest building in the complex. Neither this, nor any other buildings in the shrine area, are open to the public.