Spiritual Traditions in Japanese Architecture

One of the greatest misconceptions I discovered I possessed, upon reading the selection from Zen Spaces and Neon Places, is that I disassociated the beauty of Japanese architecture from Eastern spiritual traditions. Growing up Roman Catholic and attending parochial school my whole life, I learned from a young age about the mentality behind the creation of Catholic cathedrals (i.e. the high ceilings meant to "humble" churchgoers and encourage a feeling of "awe" in believers). I had absolutely no idea that a building like the Ise Jingu existed, and - through the rebuilding process every 20 years - a long spiritual tradition is continued in China that is directly connected to the architecture itself. I, like the uninformed Westerner I am, also was shocked to learn that this shrine is not just one building, but a total of 60 structures connected by a pilgrimage path! I know it may seem obvious and apparent, but reading this selection revealed to me just how much spiritual tradition is rooted in the building itself and even the idea of the "twenty year cycle." (I think it's fascinating that the twenty year cycle "commemorates this rhythm" of the day/night, sun/moon, seasons, and harvest season as well.) I think a stellar lesson would be to present the Ise Shrine to students and have them attempt to "decipher" the deeper meanings of the building from their limited Western perspective. By then having students use cooperative learning (or even a "Jigsaw activity") to discover the history of these spiritual traditions, students may discover first-hand how history, culture, spirituality, and ideology all combine in the creation of Japanese architecture.