Ise Grand Shrine

Overview

The Ise Grand Shrine is a complex of shrines of Shinto, Japan's indigenous religion, located in the city of Ise in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Its Inner Shrine honors Amaterasu, the sun goddess whom Shinto tradition regards as the ancestor of Japan's imperial family. The shrine receives millions of worshippers each year.

Present

The Ise Grand Shrine is administered by its own shrine office and priesthood. The office of supreme priest or priestess is traditionally held by a member or descendant of Japan's imperial family. Around 1,500 rituals are performed at the shrine each year, many of them prayers for the harvest and for the wellbeing of the nation. The most important annual festival is the Kannamesai in October, when the first rice of the harvest is offered to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Every 20 years the main sanctuaries and the Uji Bridge are completely dismantled and rebuilt on adjacent plots, and the deities are transferred to the new buildings. This rebuilding, the Shikinen Sengu, unfolds through a cycle of ceremonies spanning about eight years. The 63rd rebuilding cycle began in 2025 and concludes in 2033. Worshippers approach the main sanctuaries up to their outer fences; the innermost precincts are closed to the public.

Religious Significance

The Ise Grand Shrine holds a central place in Shinto, Japan's indigenous religion, which honors kami, spirits or deities connected with natural forces, places, and ancestors. Its Inner Shrine honors Amaterasu, the sun goddess, whom Shinto tradition regards as the foremost of the kami and the ancestor of Japan's imperial line. Shinto tradition holds that the Inner Shrine houses the sacred mirror, one of the three imperial regalia, the objects that in Japanese tradition signify the emperor's legitimacy, and that the mirror embodies the presence of Amaterasu. Tradition holds that a princess of the imperial house traveled through Japan seeking a lasting home for the worship of Amaterasu and established it at Ise beside the Isuzu River. The Outer Shrine honors Toyouke, the deity of food, clothing, and shelter, whom tradition holds was brought to Ise to provide sacred meals for Amaterasu. Priests present food offerings at the Outer Shrine daily. Within Shinto, the complete rebuilding of the sanctuaries every 20 years expresses renewal: the shrine is kept forever new while its form is kept unchanged. Pilgrimage to Ise has drawn worshippers from across Japan for centuries.

History & Structure

The Ise Grand Shrine comprises 125 shrines in and around the city of Ise, centered on two precincts several kilometers apart: the Inner Shrine, in a forest of ancient cypress beside the Isuzu River, and the Outer Shrine, closer to the city center. Shinto tradition dates the founding of the Inner Shrine to about 2,000 years ago and the Outer Shrine to about 1,500 years ago. The documented cycle of rebuilding the sanctuaries every 20 years has been carried out for more than 1,300 years; the buildings completed in 2013 are the 62nd on record. The main sanctuaries are built of Japanese cypress in a plain style reserved for Ise alone, with raised floors, thatched roofs, and crossed beams projecting above the rooflines, joined without nails. The style derives from ancient raised rice granaries. The Uji Bridge, about 100 meters long, crosses the Isuzu River at the entrance to the Inner Shrine and is rebuilt in the same 20-year cycle. Timbers from the dismantled buildings are reused in torii gates, the entrance gates of Shinto shrines, and in shrines across Japan.

Additional Resources

• Official website: Ise Jingū
• Book: A Social History of the Ise Shrines: Divine Capital of Japan by Mark Teeuwen and John Breen (2017)