Kikuma Watanabe designed a portable shrine in a depopulated village in the moutain region of Kochi in Japan. In 2015, the pre-existing one called Kanamine-jinja was deeply injured by a heavy typhoon that hit the village. The Kanamine Shinto shrine had two architectural components: one is the front shrine dedicated to worshipers while the other was the rear shrine, where main shrine was set.
Movable shrine
In a depopulated village in the moutain region of Kochi in Japan, Kikuma Watanabe designed a movable shrine made of steel pipes wood and polycarbonate panels.
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- 13 July 2017
- Tosayamada
As a solution, Japanese architect decided to divide the building into two smaller shrines: the frontal area is a housing area for inhabitants and the worshipers while the rear shrine is set in front of the original shrine in the forest. Before demolition of the original shrine, the main shrine set in the original shrine was transfered into the rear shrine. The rear end features eight wheels attached to the bottom of the structure, rendering it portable.
Movable Shinto Shrine, Tosayamada, Japan
Program: religious building
Architect: Kikuma Watanabe
Structural engineering: Syunya Takahashi
Area: 4.05 sqm
Completion: 2017