According to the “History of Toga Village,” the main building was built with different types of trees gathered from a shipwreck in 1751. Humidity from the sea made necessary renovations to its roofs and corridors in 1899 and 1900. The architectural features of the shrine can be found especially in the decorative joints under the front eave. The engraved lines are smooth and there is also a beautifully curbed kaeru-mata (wooden pieces to support the roof, which are called kaeru-mata, or “frog legs,” because of their shape).
The sangen-zukuri (four-pillar-three-space) structure with a gridless ceiling in the inner part of the main building reminds us that this shrine once housed three gods, Hachiman, Sanno, and Sumiyoshi. Most of the ornaments were changed during the Meiji era, but we can still find characteristic styles of Hiramitsudo and Kubina applied on the beams which separate the interior and exterior sections of the building. Joints in the Hiramitsudo style support the beam at three points. The ends of the beams stick out of the pillars to form a kibana.
Oga City Board of Education
