When one thinks of a Japanese shrine or temple, a typical image tends to surface: vermillion torii gates, mossy stone lanterns and centuries-old wooden beams weathered by time. Yet in recent years, some sacred spaces have become sites of architectural experimentation. Across Japan, a new generation of shrines and temples — some redesigned by world-renowned architects, others built entirely anew — is embracing modern materials, unexpected shapes and minimalist sensibilities while preserving their cultural essence.

For visitors, these contemporary sanctuaries offer a different kind of spiritual experience: one that’s contemplative yet striking, rooted in history yet forward-looking. Below is a curated journey through seven such sites across Japan.

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Akagi Shrine, Tokyo

Located in Tokyo’s fashionable Kagurazaka district, Akagi Shrine was completely rebuilt in 2010 under the supervision of Kengo Kuma. Instead of restoring the old wooden hall, Kuma reimagined it as a modern, glass-encased pavilion. The walls are mostly transparent, letting visitors glimpse both the interior of the shrine and the trees beyond. Warm hinoki cypress latticework frames the glass, while traditional roof forms are reinterpreted using folded steel sheets.

Come nighttime, the warm glow from within the glass hall turns the structure into a lantern, beaming softly over the cobblestone streets. The grounds now contain a modern apartment building and a stylish cafe, Akagi Cafe — blending daily life with the sacred.

Zuishoji Temple, Tokyo

Situated in Tokyo’s Minato ward, Zuishoji is a Zen temple that recently underwent a transformation, also led by Kengo Kuma. As the temple’s main hall is designated as a Tangible Cultural Property, the 2018 project focused on rebuilding the monks’ living quarters and reimagining how the temple connects to its urban surroundings.

Kuma’s design utilizes a combination of steel and wood, creating a U-shaped cloister that wraps around a reflective pool. At its center sits a raised platform, which can be used for community gatherings, performances and seasonal events. The most striking feature is the distinct roofline — sharp, slanted and metallic — which cuts a clean silhouette against the Tokyo sky and contrasts with the soft beauty of the courtyard.

Musashino Reiwa Shrine, Saitama Prefecture

Musashino Reiwa Shrine — officially Musashino Nimasu Uruwashiki Yamato no Miyashiro Shrine — is a rare example of a shrine built entirely in the current era. Designed by Kengo Kuma as part of Tokorozawa Sakura Town, a sprawling entertainment and shopping complex focused on Japanese pop culture, it blends traditional Shinto vocabulary with minimalist, contemporary design. Small red torii gates, reminiscent of Inari shrines, line the path to the main hall, while at night, a massive torii gate glows in neon, creating an unmistakably modern image.

The shrine enshrines the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and her brother Susanoo no Mikoto, the deity who oversees the storms and the seas. Step inside, and you’ll be greeted with a stunning ceiling art display painted by Yoshitaka Amano, who has worked on beloved series like Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D.

Korinji Temple, Ehime Prefecture

While not a temple hall in the traditional sense, Korinji’s new ihaido (hall for housing Buddhist memorial tablets) in Imabari city — designed by Takashi Okuno — offers one of the most striking examples of contemporary Buddhist architecture in the Shikoku region. Standing stately among the surrounding traditional temples, the five‑story hall is wrapped in hundreds of cypress rafters meant to evoke a pleated hakama garment, punctuated by 88 glass panes referencing both Zen cosmology and the pilgrimage routes in Shikoku.

These panes filter shifting light in a way that conveys “shogyo mujo” — the Buddhist notion that nothing is permanent. For those entering to pay respects to loved ones, the interior opens into warm wooden spaces. The top floor is framed entirely in glass, connecting visitors gently to the surrounding forest.

Honpukuji Temple, Hyogo Prefecture

Architect Tadao Ando is famous for his mastery of concrete, and Honpukuji (also known as the Water Temple), on Awaji Island, is arguably his spiritual masterpiece. From the outside, the temple is almost invisible. Visitors see only a long, curved concrete wall and an oval lotus pond reflecting the sky.

The sanctuary lies not above, but below. Patrons descend a staircase that cuts directly through the center of the pond. Going deeper into the curved corridor, the light shifts, and visitors emerge into a circular underground hall where the concrete is bathed in the light cast by the vermilion main hall. This multisensory experience also echoes the Buddhist concept of spiritual purification and rebirth.

Ashiosha, Hakusan Shrine, Aichi Prefecture

Located in Nisshin city, Ashiosha is a subshrine of the Hakusan complex, dedicated specifically to the god of feet and legs; it’s even been dubbed the “soccer shrine” due to the many soccer players that come to visit. Designed by architectural firm AUAU, this structure rethinks the physical relationship between the worshipper and the divine.

Unlike traditional shrines that enforce a rigid, linear approach to an altar, Ashiosha was designed as a “circulatory” experience, encouraging visitors to wander and linger within the sacred grove. The shrine is constructed from an intricate assembly of thin timber, creating a lattice that allows sunlight to filter through and the wind to pass freely, blending the interior with the surrounding forest.

Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, Fukuoka Prefecture

Dazaifu Tenmangu is one of Japan’s most significant shrines, built over the grave of Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of culture, the arts and academia. With the main hall undergoing renovation until 2026, a “temporary” hall was required, and Sou Fujimoto was enlisted to help.

This iteration is defined by a minimalist black structure topped with an elliptical “forest-like” roof planted with plum trees — an homage to the shrine’s legend of the flying plum tree that traveled overnight from Kyoto to Dazaifu to be with Sugawara no Michizane. Inside, textiles created by designer Maiko Kurogouchi’s womenswear brand, Mame Kurogouchi, incorporate plum motifs and ancient dyeing methods, further weaving past and present together.

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