<![CDATA[Studies on ancient Javanese mosque architecture predominantly focus on the tajug roof typology, soko guru pillars, and the Catur Gatra Tunggal spatial layout, rarely examining physical boundaries such as gateways, ramparts, and screen walls (kelir) as arenas of spatial contestation. This study aims to analyze and compare how physical boundary structures construct the sacred profane hierarchy and mediate the contestation between political authority, sacredness, and public accessibility in inland court (Mataraman) and coastal (Pasisiran) mosques. Utilizing a qualitative comparative approach anchored in Visual Cultural Studies, Architectural Sociology, and Henri Lefebvre's Spatial Triad, this study focuses on four primary loci: the Gedhe Kauman Mosque in Yogyakarta, the Menara Kudus Mosque, the Demak Great Mosque, and the Sang Cipta Rasa Great Mosque in Cirebon. The findings reveal a divergence in materiality and spatial scenography. Court mosques employ thick whitewashed walls, screen walls, and strict hierarchical segregation to consolidate feudal power and cosmological compliance. Conversely, coastal mosques utilize Majapahit style exposed red brickwork, candi bentar split gates, and performative thresholds (ethos of adab) as liminal transition spaces open to cultural acculturation and heterogeneity. This study concludes that Javanese mosque architectural boundaries serve as active instruments reproducing spatial politics and sustaining living cultural tolerance.]]>
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