The spacious characteristics of the Itsukushima-jinja Shrine, originally constructed during the period of the Empress Suiko regnant, were seen in its design, first, a large torii and plain stage appeared on the sea and second, a corridor (a covered passageway) that turns, surrounds an axis connecting a large torii (gateway to a Shinto shrine) and the main shrine, and third, buildings of the shrine and the large torii that blends with the surrounding nature can be seen off and on as viewers approach, which imitate the sea, pond, spring, and the mountain behind the shrine as an object in which the soul of a god dwells, and it becomes a massive view in scale that merges the sea and mountains into one unit.
推古天皇期に創建された厳島神社は、空間的特徴は海上に浮かぶ大鳥居と平舞台、本殿を結ぶ軸線に対し、曲折する回廊が取り囲み、自然に溶け込む社殿や大鳥居がアプローチにしたがって見え隠れする配置で、海を庭園の池泉に見立て、背後を囲む山岳を神体に見立てたもので、海と山を一体的に取込んだ雄大な風景が組みこまれている。