How to make the difference between temple and shrine architecture

*Note : all links in the text lead to articles (like Wikipedia) on the subject and in the examples, it leads to images in Google Maps. When possible, I will give examples that are well known locations and/or places that would be easy to visit for tourists. Feel free to share extra (or better) examples if you can or ask questions about elements you found in a temple or shrine and wonder what they are and if the are associated with one more than the other.*

In a previous post, I explained [How to make the difference between temple and shrine names](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/q1oql1/how_to_make_the_difference_between_temple_and/) and as I said there, it is also possible to see some differences in the architecture and what you will see at shrines and temples that make difference and this is what I want to explore now. While I say “architecture”, let’s say that I will have a really wide definition that will extend to almost anything you can see, from buildings to decorative elements. I won’t go as far as to talk about different architectural styles (but you can read more about [shrine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_architecture#Most_common_shrine_styles) [\#](https://doyouknowjapan.com/architecture/shrine/) and [temple](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Buddhist_architecture) ([garan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shichid%C5%8D_garan)) architecture). Next time you visit a temple or shrine, try to spot these different elements.

Before I even start to explain the different elements, it is important to have some background into the history of the two religions in Japan. [Shinto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto) is the indigenous religion of Japan and have it’s roots likely back in prehistoric period of Japan. [Buddhism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Japan), on the other hand, was introduced to Japan from China and Korea in the middle of the sixth century. Over time, Buddhism took more and more place in Japan, but this did not lead to fight between the two religions. There was actually efforts, especially during the Heian period, to bring them as close as possible. Shrines where located inside of temple complex, Buddhist monks were sometimes shinto priest, some considered that the Buddha are kami (shinto divinity/god), etc. It is only during the [Meiji era](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_(era)) (start in 1868) that the government decided to make shinto the state religion and enforced a separation of the two religions. So while both religions should be clearly separated in modern Japan, the period of [syncretism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinbutsu-sh%C5%ABg%C5%8D) had a lasting impacts, so this explain how a lot of the elements that should be typical to shrines or temples can actually be found in both, especially for places build before 1868, this is why I will also include exceptions as much as I can.

**Shrine**

[Torii gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torii) : the torii gate is the most iconic element of the shrine. The gate marks the entrance of a sacred location. There are different styles of torii and they can be made of different materials such as wood, stone and metal, but the most famous is the wooden one painted in vermillion.

[Gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_(architecture)) : many shrines will have regular gates that are also common in temples. One of the things that can be different is the guardians in the gate (if there is any). The most common ones in shrines are [Zuijin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuijin), which are usually depicted holding bows and arrows. They are also often depicted sitting, which can make it easier to identify.

[Komainu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komainu) : the lion-dogs are a pair of guardians usually located in front of the main hall. The one one the right usually has an open mouth that says “a” and the one on the left has a closed mouth that says “un”. As these sounds are the first and last letters of sanskrit, they symbolically represent the beginning and the end of all things. The a-un pattern is more of a Buddhist concept, that they also have. A common alternative form is fox guardians usually found at Inari shrines.

[Chōzuya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%8Dzuya) : when entering a shrine, you will usually find a water basin where you can go wash your hands and mouth before approaching the maint building, this is also a practice that is often borrowed by temples..

[Haiden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiden_(Shinto)) : the hall of worship is usually the largest building of the shrine, it is the place where ceremonies are held. Inside the building, you can likely see an altar where offerings can be given to the kami. It is also common to find a mirror, that is a sacred symbol, as well as different decorations that mark a sacred location, such as shimenawa and shide.

[Honden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honden) : the honden is the most important building of the shrine. This is the location where the kami is enshrined. It can be connected to the haiden (so it might look like a single building) and is off limits to the general public. It is sometimes fenced off. It can only be accessed by the priest.

[Kagura-den](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagura-den) : this building is a stage where kagura dance or noh are performed. The dance performances are likely to happen during some religious events, including matsuri.

[Ema](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ema_(Shinto)) : the ema is a wooden plaque where worshippers write a wish. It is usually hung in a specific location in the shrine.

[Chigi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chigi_(architecture)) / [Katsuogi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katsuogi) : the chigi are forked roof finals and katsuogi are decorative logs on top of the roof. The are often found together and are exclusive to shrine

[Shimenawa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimenawa)/[shide](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shide_(shinto)): the shimenawa is a straw rope used for ritual purification, it is often decorated with shide, or paper streamer. They can be found around trees, on torii gates, on and in buildings.

Statue : Excluding guardians, statues are not really common at shrines, what you will most likely find are statues of animals, such as cows at Tenjin shrines and foxes at Inari shrines. There is also less common occurrence of statues of one of the [seven gods of luck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Lucky_Gods) (that are also found in Buddhism) or some of the kami like Okuninushi. On some occasions, there can be statues of historic character. Both shrines and temples can be decorated by carvings of different mythical animals such as [shishi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions), [baku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku_(mythology)) and [dragon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dragon).

**Temple**

[Gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_(architecture)) : The gate of temples can also be protected by guardians, just as the Shine’s gate. However, the guardian will usually be different. One of the most common guardians is [Niō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nio), which is part of Buddhist tradition. They are easy to recognize as they are usually showing one open hand and as a pair, they also take the a-un mouth pattern. Other guardians that exist are [Fujin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C5%ABjin) (who carries a large bag on his shoulder) and [Raijin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raijin) (with drums floating around him), who are actually kami… (don’t even ask me why shinto divinity are guarding temples…). There are also other figures that can be used as guardians, such as the [Four Heavenly Kings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Heavenly_Kings), [Yasha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha), or other Buddhist figures. The gate can be an important part of the temple, for example, in Zen temples, the [sanmon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanmon) design and size will vary depending on the rank of the temple.

[Main hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Hall_(Japanese_Buddhism)) : While Temple complexes often have many buildings, the most important will usually be the main hall. There are different types of main hall such as Kondō, Hondō and butsuden (Buddha hall). The inside will often display statues of different Buddhist figures as well as different decorative objects where the monks will perform ceremonies and read sutra. While there might be several buildings at a temple, this is the main one you will want to visit. Yes, there can be many more buildings in a temple, I just want to highlight the main one.

[Shōrō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dr%C5%8D) : The bell tower is a typical building at a temple. The [bell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsh%C5%8D) is usually struck using a beam suspended by beams and is used to mark time and in religious ceremonies, notably on new year’s eve.

[Tō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pagoda) : The pagoda is a typical Buddhist construction that is an evolution from Indian stupa. It can be a single storey building, but the most emblematic form is as a multi storey building, usually with an odd number of roofs (3 and 5 being common) and only have one usable floor at ground level (if there is even usable space inside). The building used to be a reliquary, but lost this original purpose and can be used to enshrine statues of the main object of worship. There are also stone pagodas, but in that case it will look more like a decorative element rather than a building.

Statue : Statues are extremely common at Temple, statues are often found both inside and outside of the buildings. We can find statues of [Buddha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood) (sidenote, a Buddha is someone who attained nirvana, it is not a singular being), such as [Amida Nyorai](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amit%C4%81bha) and [Dainichi Nyorai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vairocana), that are respectively the great Buddha of Kamakura and Nara and [Shaka Nyorai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha) (the historic Buddha). They might be identified by their hand position, but would require much more explanation. There is also statues of Bodhisattva, the most common and easy to recognize are [Jizo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E1%B9%A3itigarbha), that often wear a red cap, [Kannon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin), who is one of the only female divinity (apart from [Benzaiten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzaiten)) and she also have some interesting form, especially the Eleven-headed Kannon and Thousand-armed Kannon (yes, some statues have a lot of harms). One of the final easy to recognize figures is [Fudō Myōō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_King), one of the Wisdom King, that is often depicted with a fierce expression, holding a sword in his right hand, a rope in his left hand, with flames behind him. Those are only some of the divinity of Buddhism, for example there is [thirteen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Buddhas) important one in Shingon buddhism. Other statues often found in temples are of Monk,

[Incense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_incense) : Incense was introduced to Japan along with Buddhism, where it is used in ceremonies. In some temples, there is a large incense burner called jokoro from where people bring to them to purify the body and mind and popular belief also gives it healing power, so many people will bring the smoke to the specific body part that needs healing.

[Rock garden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rock_garden) : Also called zen garden, they are a creation of zen Buddhism. They are usually made of stone and raked gravel. Note that they are not exclusive to zen Buddhism and can even be found in Japanese gardens.

[Goshikimaku](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%94%E8%89%B2%E5%B9%95) : the five colored curtain that is sometimes hung on the walls of temples. The five colors in Japan are usually green, yellow, red, white and blue. It will often be used at annual festivals such as the Buddha’s Birthday ([Flower festival / hana matsuri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha%27s_Birthday)) In Shingon Buddhism, the colors represent the [five wisdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_wisdoms).

Cemetery : as funerals are not often associated with temples (still I would argue that shinto does have an important impact on funeral rites), so if you see a graveyard next to a temple or shrine, it is likely a temple.

**Common**

[Sandō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand%C5%8D): the sandō is the road that leads to either the temple or shrine, it starts from the first torii or gate up to the main building.

[Tōrō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dr%C5%8D) : the lantern is a decorative element that can be made from different materials such as stone, wood and metal. They can be found on the path leading to the main building or hanging from the building.

||Shrine|Temple|
|:-|:-|:-|
|**Shrine**|||
|Torii|[Fushimi Inari-taisha](https://goo.gl/maps/Qo9K65VJ8cybpx6K6) (ok, you wanted to see [this](https://goo.gl/maps/p9NW1vutcdTdtvc6A) right ?)|[Hōzan-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/fAkM8x3wjCcFcwF7A)|
|Chōzuya|[Heian-jingū](https://goo.gl/maps/4i2q4zTrDPbuJiHJA)|[Sensō-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/peTLnE5wGpwoTC9i8)|
|Kagura-den|[Nezu-jinja](https://goo.gl/maps/dXvCkyeFo2P76H417) (building on the right, [here](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6-nVZWs3U3E/XKwMekca-_I/AAAAAAAACdk/bww1U49Y53Insvl1a9Wb8IRmRI_Zwv9dgCKgBGAs/s1600/DSC_5005.JPG) during a performance)||
|Ema|[Kirishima-jingu](https://goo.gl/maps/4ahMhgRGPPJW2ZNt9)|[Oka-dera](https://goo.gl/maps/ngNe9aB64bEFJxRQA)|
|Komainu|[Kanda-myojin](https://goo.gl/maps/jjvXVYwohX8vB476A) / [Taikodani Inari-jinja](https://goo.gl/maps/osWSttfX1aqs2MtD7)|[Saiko-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/M1McCD8JCbEmUsMV9)|
|Haiden|[Hanazono-jinja](https://goo.gl/maps/6w4FPck6tVbHTTtt9) / [Nikko Tosho-gu](https://goo.gl/maps/hCQ9euyNBgN4rmSa7) (inside)|\-|
|Honden|[Sumiyoshi-taisha](https://goo.gl/maps/oj92nw3MbUkztrXg6) The black building in front is the haiden and in back in red is the honden, surrounded by a fence)|\-|
|Chigi / Katsuogi|[Ise-jingu](https://goo.gl/maps/oEC68yP74nZryPu28)|\-|
|Shimenawa/shide|[Izumo-taisha](https://goo.gl/maps/N1UbEokZJVApKv7c9)|[Hozan-ji](https://www.google.com/maps/@34.6844738,135.6866482,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipMRLGhLbz2TyQMRvFLsGuUrNDx7xdrfiOeBv-mb!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMRLGhLbz2TyQMRvFLsGuUrNDx7xdrfiOeBv-mb%3Dw203-h114-k-no!7i3838!8i2159)|
|**Temple**|||
|Main hall|\-|[Ninna-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/rA9MQXBR6DXA1zEw7) (inside)|
|Shōrō|[Katsushika Hachiman-gū](https://goo.gl/maps/K67iLj4J9yreEw3x8) |[Tō](https://goo.gl/maps/uvBhkyQaktjHZC4t7)[\-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/uvBhkyQaktjHZC4t7)|
|Tō|[Nikkō Tōshō-gū](https://goo.gl/maps/63GoMnfBkwyFvTKX6)| [Hokan-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/2Yz9P5X4vMoCkLT46)|
|Incense||[Kōgan-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/9bnF4JXPWbXNbgXi7)|
|Rock garden||[Ryoan-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/yZqxb7JhvvFt2SAp6)|
|Goshikimaku|\-|[Chishaku-in](https://goo.gl/maps/qpp739C2JB5zSwBd9)|
|Cemetery||[Shitenno-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/CW2Qojrv4HApFCPY7)|
|**Common**|||
|Statue|[Kitano Tenman-gu](https://goo.gl/maps/B5pmcCYcH9LKBPz58) (Cow) / [Kanda-Myojin](https://goo.gl/maps/YaGao7vhsKzEPgwZ8) (Ebisu) / [Izumo-taisha](https://goo.gl/maps/rAwVLBcVnmqemdGF7) (Okuninushi) |[Kotoku-in](https://goo.gl/maps/sPaNsNZSdAMujAP96) (Amida Nyorai) / [Sanjūsangen-dō](https://goo.gl/maps/CqgV9uPgFSzhzGtG6) Kannon / [Jizō-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/o9pyjvjBmoGKRG3RA) (Kobo Daishi, monk)|
|Sandō|[Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū](https://goo.gl/maps/AKUvJDv1cBhZF9QU8) |[Sensō-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/KgV8yNARRxqDqt8g9)|
|Gate|[Zuishinmon](https://goo.gl/maps/BN3k68Rv7Unk1obP6) at Okunitama-jinja ([Zuijin](https://goo.gl/maps/ejbXcsTt6MAGRwqW6))| [Nandaimon](https://goo.gl/maps/4K8bavayLnCg5oyv6) at Todai-ji ([Nio](https://goo.gl/maps/myuXGtkYQMGyevex6))|
|Tōrō – standing|[Ueno Tōshō-gū](https://goo.gl/maps/ptLae7cgGLsARkEm8)| [Tanjō-ji](https://goo.gl/maps/vUNNTdC6Zs23jmwG7)|
|Tōrō – hanging|[Kasuga-taisha](https://goo.gl/maps/1ZdRxe1nAYVoucDD7)|[Bishamon-do](https://goo.gl/maps/2KbmgZrHnDjCM9yb7)|

​