As
a final example of primitivism at Ise, notice the way in which the pillars
are buried directly in the ground, in contrast with the imported Chinese
system illustrated in the temple to the left in which the pillars are set
on stone bases. In this case, the primitive survival is more than functionless,
it is anti-functional, since wooden pillars rot quickly when set directly
in the soil. It is only the practice of regular rebuilding which has enabled
the preservation of this most primitive characteristic at Ise for so many
centuries.