While visiting Japan, you will notice that inside the courtyard of the major Shinto shrines there are smaller buildings, often looking similar to the shrine’s main building. These are sessha ("auxiliary shrine") or massha ("under-shrine") smaller shrines, like the ones you can see in this photo, taken inside the Fushimi Inari Taisha from Kyoto.

The kami (deities) venerated in the sessha is related somehow to the main shrine’s deity or it is a local kami. And although they are small and the size is also standardized (for example the shrine on the left is just 1 ken), sessha and massha are real shrines, with bells, saisenbako and sometimes have their own torii and guardians.

Setsumatsusha, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Traditional Japanese clothing, Hakama and its meanings