Research on small and medium-sized shrines and local communities in modern Japanese cities

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K22441
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0304:Architecture, building engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: KOMINAMI Hiroki 東京大学, 生産技術研究所, 助教 (90881582)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 地域神社 / 地域社会 / 国家神道 / 氏子 / 氏子域 / 境内 / 境内借地

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The most significant change in shrine precincts after the Meiji Restoration was the distinction of land types and land use in accordance with the issuance of land tickets, and with the exception of a few cases of complicated land ownership and leasing relationships, land use within shrine precincts in Tokyo proceeded smoothly. The most important change in terms of "place needed for rituals" was the change in shrine offices. In half of the shrines in Tokyo, a person different from the traditional Shinto priest was appointed as a priest, but with the exception of a few priests who commuted from home, most of them lived in the shrine office of the shrine where they worked. Although shrines and priests were separated, the framework of the shrine office remained, so that the office space was not separated from the living space, and the priests continued to have their living space within the shrine premises.

Free Research Field

建築意匠・歴史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

明治初頭の東京を対象に、古来都市に数多く存在してきた中小規模かつ地域的な神社＝地域神社に関する空間の歴史的ありようを考察してきた。地域神社を核に形成されてきた都市内の地域共同体の持続と変容の実態の一部を明らかにすることができ、日本における都市空間の近代化について理解を深めることができた。