Setsumatsusha

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title: "Setsumatsusha" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["shinto-architecture", "japanese-words-and-phrases", "setsumatsusha"] description: "Miniature Japanese shrines" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsumatsusha" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Miniature Japanese shrines ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Iwa_jinja_11.JPG" caption="A row of ''sessha'' at [[Iwa Shrine]], [[Hyōgo Prefecture"] ::

Sessha and massha, also called eda-miya (collectively known as setsumatsushaThe term setsumatsusha is the combination of the two terms sessha and massha.) are small or miniature shrines entrusted to the care of a larger shrine, generally due to some deep connection with the enshrined kami.

The two terms used to have legally different meanings, but are today synonyms. Setsumatsusha can lie either inside or outside the main shrine's premises. Setsumatsusha are usually 1x1 ken in size. They can however be as small as beehives or relatively large and have 1x2, 1x3 or even, in one case, 1x7 bays.

History

The practice of building sessha and massha shrines within a jinja predates written history. The earliest setsumatsusha usually had some strong connection to the history of the area or the family of the enshrined kami.

During the Heian period, Ise Shrine used to make a distinction between the two types based on whether a shrine belonged to the Engishiki Jinmyōchō list (sessha) or to the Enryaku gishikichō list (massha).

From the Japanese Middle Ages onwards, at other shrines popular kami like Hachiman, Inari or Gozu Tennō were often enshrinedThrough a process called kanjō in setsumatsusha, but no clear distinction between the two terms was made. From the Meiji period to the Second World War, a shrine dedicated to family members of a kami, to the violent side of a kami, or the kami of the region where the main shrine was, were to be considered sessha with a higher rank than the rest, which were called massha. When the shakaku shrine ranking system was abolished in 1946, legally the distinction disappeared, but both terms remained in use out of habit.

Betsugu are another kind of auxiliary shrine their relationships to the main shrine are similar to that of Massha and Sessha. The term is most notable for the extensive betsugu at Ise Grand Shrine.

Architectural style

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Sanko-jinja_massha.jpeg" caption="A ''massha'' at [[Sankō Shrine]] in [[Ōsaka"] ::

Being true shrines, setsumatsusha have most features other types of shrines have, including doors and often stairs. However, the Misedana-zukuri is a style normally used only in sessha and massha. It owes its name to the fact that, unlike other shrine styles, it doesn't feature a stairway at its entrance, and the veranda is completely flat. Miniature stairways can however be present. They can be either tsumairi, that is have the entrance under the gable, or, more frequently, hirairi, that is, have the entrance on the side parallel to the roof's ridge (see examples in the gallery). Apart from the lack of a staircase, such shrines belong to the nagare-zukuri or kasuga-zukuri styles.

Architectural examples

File:Hinomisaki-jinja sessha.jpg|A large sessha File:Kagami-no-miya-jinja. 01.jpg|A massha at Ise Shrine File:Katsuragi-jinja (Gose, Nara) massha.jpg|A row of massha File:Iwashimizu Hachimangu setummasha6.jpg|A hirairi sessha File:Aguchi-jinja setsumassha2.jpg|A tsumairi sessha

Notes

References

References

1. Iwanami {{nihongo. [[Kōjien]]. 広辞苑 Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version.
2. Mure, Jin. "Sessha, massha". Shokagukan.
3. "Sessha – Massha". Yahoo! Japan.
4. "JAANUS".
5. Mori, Mizue. "Sessha, Massha". Encyclopedia of Shinto.
6. "Betsugū | 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::