八坂神社は、神様を祀る神殿と人が拝む拝殿が寺のように一体　　At Yasaka Shrine, the temple that worships the god and the hall of worship that people worship are integrated like a temple.

先日、八坂神社に参拝した。現本殿が建立され370年近くなるようだが、一昨年にその本殿が国宝に指定され気持ち新たに神社境内を歩いてみた。
半世紀前に京都生活を始めたころ、祇園祭りの帰路に友人と八坂神社へ行った折、あるトラブルに巻き込まれたことがある。それが八坂神社とのご縁になり、懐かしい思い出として印象深く残っている。

 The other day, I visited Yasaka Shrine. It seems that the current main shrine has been built for nearly 370 years.The main shrine was designated as a national treasure two years ago and I felt like walking around the shrine precincts.
When I started living in Kyoto half a century ago, when I went to Yasaka Shrine with a friend on the way back from Gion Matsuri, we had a problem. It became a connection with Yasaka Shrine and left an impressive impression as a nostalgic memory.

 

ご存じのとおり、四条通りの東突き当りが八坂神社。知らない人がいないほどの知名度を誇る。「祇園さん」として古くから京都の人々には親しまれ、素戔嗚尊(すさのをのみこと)を主祭神とし、また薬師如来を本寺仏(ほんじぶつ)として疫病消除の神社になり、多くの祈りが祇園信仰につながり日本三大祭り祇園祭へ、とつながった。

 As you know, Yasaka Shrine is at the eastern end of Shijo-dori. It is so famous that no one knows it. As "Gion-san", it has been familiar to the people of Kyoto for a long time, and it has become a shrine for exterminating plagues with Susanoo-no-Mikoto as the main deity and Yakushi Nyorai as the Honjibutsu. The prayer led to the Gion faith and led to the Three Great Festivals of Japan, Gion Festival.

 

八坂神社の本殿は「祇園造(ぎおんづくり)」と呼ばれる、ちょっと珍しい建築様式の建物。神様を祀る神殿と、人が拝む拝殿がお寺のように一体になっているのが特徴である。
両側面と背面に庇(ひさし)がある独特の外観になっている。屋根は檜皮葺で造られている。
建築は門外漢で分からないが、資料(国宝指定)によると、平安時代の建築の空間構成を伝え中世の信仰儀礼と建物の関係をよく示しており伝統を継承した建物として，江戸時代前期に建立されたことは我が国建築史上，高い価値を有する。また，この本殿が，祇園祭を担う人々によって現在まで維持されてきたことには，深い文化史的意義が認められる。
ということのようだ。

 The main shrine of Yasaka Shrine is a building with a slightly unusual architectural style called "Gion-zukuri". The feature is that the temple that worships God and the hall of worship that people worship is integrated like a temple. It has a unique appearance with eaves on both sides and the back. The roof is made of cypress bark.
The architecture is unknown to the outsiders, but according to the materials (designated as a national treasure), it was built in the early Edo period as a building that inherited the tradition and conveys the spatial composition of the architecture of the Heian period and clearly shows the relationship between the religious rituals of the Middle Ages and the building. What has been done has high value in the history of Japanese architecture. In addition, the fact that this main shrine has been maintained by the people who carry out the Gion Festival up to now has deep cultural historical significance. It seems that.

神殿と拝殿が一体した本殿

舞殿からみる本殿

本殿の前にある「舞殿」では数々の奉納の行事が行われているが、今はただただ静寂の中に包まれている。聞こえてくるのは本殿の鈴の音だけ。千年以上の伝統を誇る華麗な祭礼祇園祭は、どうなるのだろう? と思いながら手を合わせた。

 Many dedication events are held at the "Maiden" in front of the main shrine, but now it is just surrounded by silence. All you can hear is the sound of the bells in the main shrine. l joined hands wondering what would happen to the splendid Gion Festival, which boasts a tradition of over a thousand years.

南楼門

石鳥居

 

リポート&写真/ 渡邉雄二　Reported & Photos by Yuji Watanabe