sects limited themselves to revive old styles and ideas, while the new relied on huge spaces and complex designs. Both, in spite of their differences, have in common a reliance on splendor and excess. Early pre-modern temples were saved from monotony by elaborate structural details, the use of undulating karahafu gables and the use of buildings of monumental size. While structural design tended to become gradually more rational and efficient, the surface of religious edifices did the opposite, growing more elaborate and complex. After the middle Edo period, passed its zenith, religious architecture ended up just repeating told ideas, losing its innovative spirit and entering its final decline. Representative examples for the Momoyama (1568–1603) and Edo period (1603–1868) temple architecture are the Karamon at Hōgon-ji and the main hall of Kiyomizu-dera, respectively. Meiji period In 1868 the government enacted its policy of separation of Buddhas and kami called Shinbutsu bunri, with catastrophic consequences for the architecture of both temples and shrines. Until that time, the syncretism of kami and buddhas had posed little problem, and brought a measure of harmony between the adherents of the two religions, and under the syncretic system, many customs evolved that are still in practice and are best understood under the syncretic context. Because many structures became illegal where they stood, such as Buddhist pagodas within the precincts of Shinto shrines, they had to be destroyed, according to the letter of the law. An estimated 30,000 Buddhist structures were demolished between 1868 and 1874. Buddhism eventually made a recovery in many parts of the country, yet in others, most notably in Kagoshima prefecture, there is still a near absence of Buddhist structures. Common temple features Butsuden or (仏殿・仏堂) – lit. "Hall of Buddha". A Zen temple's main hall. Seems to have two stories, but has in fact only one and measures either 3x3 or 5x5 bays. Any building enshrining the statue of Buddha or of a bodhisattva and dedicated to prayer. chinjusha (鎮守社/鎮主社) – a small shrine built at a Buddhist temple and dedicated to its tutelary kami. chōzuya (手水舎) – see temizuya. chūmon (中門) – in a temple, the gate after the naindaimon connected to a kairō. See also mon. dō (堂) – Lit. hall. Suffix for the name of the buildings part of a temple. The prefix can be the name of a deity associated with it (e.g. Yakushi-dō, or Yakushi hall) or