One thing you will surely notice while visiting the Japanese Shinto shrines will be the enclosures surrounding the sacred areas. Called tamagaki, these wooden, stone or concrete fences are part of the traditional Shinto architecture. Some tamagaki are more complex structures, with gabled roofs and in some cases they are real works of art, with carvings or sculptures.

In today’s photo you can see a part of the tamagaki surrounding the Haiden (hall of worship) of the Toshougu Shrine from Ueno, Tokyo. Declared National Treasure, this 170 meters long tamagaki is beautifully decorated with carvings of birds, fishes and flowers and it is the only fence of this kind that survived in Tokyo.

Toshougu Shrine, Ueno, Tokyo

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Unusual Toba Bay Cruise