In Shinto shrine architecture, a is the part within a Shinto shrine's compound used to house offerings. It normally consists of a connecting section linking the honden (sanctuary, closed to the public) to the haiden (oratory). In heiden, offerings (heihaku), consisting of strips of paper or silk or white and red clothing, are offered to the kami.Heiden, JAANUS, accessed on June 11, 2024 The heihaku offered here evolved from the older practice of mitegura, cloth offerings tied to a ceremonial staff, and eventually developed into the gohei, a wand hung with zigzag paper strips (shide). The Engishikis norito texts classify heihaku into clothing, weapons, sake (omiki), and food offerings (shinsen); this classification was later simplified to cloth offerings (yū and nigite) and the gohei itself. As a form of heihaku, the gohei is also considered a yorishiro endowed with strong purifying power, and has historically been used in rituals to exorcise epidemic disease.
If the shrine is built in the Ishi-no-ma-zukuri style,Also called Gongen-zukuri its stone pavement is lower than the floor of the other two rooms, and it is called , hence the name.Heiden, Encyclopedia of Shinto, accessed on November 17, 2009 It can also be called or in other ways, and its position can sometimes vary. In spite of its name, nowadays it is used mostly for rituals.
The size of the heiden also varies considerably and there are some exceptions regarding its location. For example, the Naikū heiden at Ise Shrine is located beyond the four walls that surround the sacred quarter.
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