Haiden

The Haiden was the shrine's worship hall, where ceremonies take place. It was typically connected to the honden by a hallway, massive sliding shoji screen, or other such portal. The haiden usually consisted of a main hall connected to several smaller inner shrines where visitors could worship in privacy. Icons of local Fortunes and smaller shrines to ancestors could be found there. Some haiden incorporated architectural defenses, such as archer ramparts, hidden escape passages, and a sloped foundation. Such worship halls included shrines to Hachiman and Bishamon, as well as wealthy rural shrines at risk for bandit attacks.