Twenty-Two Shrines (1)- Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢の神宮)

Ise Grand Shrine is the most sacred shrine in Japan, comprised of two main buildings, 14 sub buildings, and 112 annexes. These 128 shrines are located throughout Mie Prefecture and this shrine complex is officially called “Jingu（神宮）-the deities’ palace” collectively. That said, people have called it “Ise Jingu” by pointing out that the two main buidings, which are the central parts of the shrine’s religious service, are located in Ise city, Mie. “Grand Shrine” is an English word corresponding to“Jingu”.

The two main buildings are “Koutai-Jingu Shrine（皇大神宮）” and “Toyo-uke dai-jingu（豊受大神宮）”. The former is called “Nai-ku（内宮: Inner Shrine）” and the latter is “Ge-ku（外宮: Outer Shrine）” popularily. In the inner shrine, Amaterasu-oo-mikami (Amaterasu), who is said to be the great ancestor of the imperial family and the supreme female deity representing the sun in Japan’s shinto mythology. The mythology tells that Amaterasu’s spirit had been enshrined in the imperial palace firstly but the 10^th emperor Sujin decided to move it away from the palace as he thought that it may have been bad that the deity and the emperor lived in the same house, when he faced to great danger onto his people such as severe famine and illness.He summoned his daughter Toyosuki-iri-no-hime (Princess Toyosuki) and ordered her to take the spirit with her from the palace and establish the best place for the spirit to settle in. Toyosuki settled in a villege called Kasanui near from the palace and spent some years there with the divine spirit. For your information, spirits can rest in every objects in the shintoism belief and Amaterasu’s sprit rested in a special mirror called Yata-no-kagami. Toyosuki brought the mirror with her on its journey as the deity’s sprit.

Years passed and the crown prince Suinin became the 11^th emperor upon his father’s death. By the time Suinin became the emperor, Toyosuki got ill and could not go on to the journey though she noticed the Kasanui villeage was not the best place. She summoned her niece Yamato-hime, the new emperor’s daughter, and asked her to succeed in the duty. Yamato-hime accepted the order and departed for her journey with the sacred mirror. She traveled around for many years and when she came to Ise, the divine spirit talked to her that the deity would like to settle in Ise. Yamato-hime settled in Ise and established a buindling for the deity to settle. According to the shrine’s official chronicle  this is the very moment of the shrine’s foundation.

The outer shrine was borne 500 years after the inner shrine’s establishment. The mythology also indicates the background; the 22^nd emperor Yuryaku saw Amaterasu in his dream and the deity asked him to take a culinary deity to the shrine because she felt lonely to have meals with no one every day. Yuryaku then decided to transfer a divine spirit of Toyouke-hime, a female deity for protecting foods, from Toyouke’s origial place in Tanba in the northern part of Kyoto, to the current place of the outer shrine. With this regard, the successive priests in the outer shrine have conducted rituals for serving breakfast and dinner to Amaterasu every single day since the outer shrine’s establishment.. In the ritual, the priests cook meals in the morning and the evening based on its traditional cooking style, so the main building of the outer shrine has a cooking place called Mike-den.

The 14 sub buildings are the place to enshrine deities related to the two deities in the two main buildings. The inner shrine has 10 and the outer has 4 sub buildings  Here is the list of sub buildings;

For the inner shrine

1. Aramatsuri-no-miya (Amaterasu’s active spirit is enshrined)

2. Kaza-hino-mino-miya (Wind-guardian called Shinatu-hiko is enshrined)

3. Tsukiyomi-no-miya (Moon guardian called Tsukiyomi-no-mikoto, Amaterasu’s younger brother, is enshrined)

4. Tsukiyomi-aramitama-no-miya (Tsukiyomi’s active spirit is enshrined)

5. Izanagi-no-miya (Amaterasu’s father Izanagi is enshrined)

6. Izanami-no-miya (Amaterasu’s mother Izanami is enshrined)

7. Yamato-hime-no-miya (Yamato-hime, the shrine’s founder, is enshrined)

8. Izawa-no-miya (Amaterasu’s separated spirit is enshrined)

9. Takihara-no-miya(Amaterasu’s separated spirit is enshrined)

10. Takihara-narabi-no-miya (Amaterasu’s separated active spirit is enshrined)

For the outer shrine

1. Taka-no-miya (Toyouke’s active spirit is enshrined)

2. Kaze-no-miya (The other place of enshrinement of Wind-guardian; Shinatsu-hiko and Shinatsu-hime)

3. Tsuchi-no-miya (The local guardian of place where the outer shrine is located)

4. Tsukiyomi-no-miya (The other place of enshrinement o fmoon-guardian; Tsukiyomi)

Shikinen-Sengu（式年遷宮）-Renovation and transfer

Toko-waka（常若）is one of the shinto’s key essense. Toko means forever and waka means young, so Toko-waka can be translated as “Forever youth”. Namely, everything should be young and active all the time. The shrine’s shikinen-sengu is based on this Toko-waka idea. Shikinen-Sengu is the shrine’s periodical renovation which has been conducted this every 20 years since the 41^stemperor Jitou promulgated and commenced the first renovation.

The whole buildings in the shrine are made of woods. Not like stones, woods can be damaged easily due to its natural exposures. If Shinto would like the forever youth, using woods may go against. However, people rather chose its periodical re-building rather than using stones.Conclusion; Toko-waka in the shrine is remained by hands of people every 20 years. For the toko-waka status, the whole buildings would be tore down and re-built with new woods. The woods from the old building will be polished and re-used in other shrines in Japan. For the new buildings, a number of woods are procured from forests on the other hand. The shrine has its own forest but.depletion was a severe problem in the past as they needed woods every twenty years. They then headed to other forests for securing the woods but afforestation in the shrine’s forest was commenced in early 1900s for its solution.Since it takes trees hundreds years to grow enough, the woods are procured from other forests mainly in Kiso area, Nagano until the afforestation is completed. The afforested woods will be used for the future renovations The afforestation is designed to procure the woods required for the renovation entirely from the shrine forest in order to excessive usage, so the shrine has hired special experts to nurture the woods for future generations.

The buildings are designed based purely on the nation’s traditional techniques. The main buildings are called “Yui-itsu Shin-mei Tsukuri（唯一神明造）” and the origin is said to be a warehouse for stocking rice in the ancient time (more than 2,000 years ago). The reason is that rice have been the main food for Japanese, which have also been an object to divinize and worship; “The deity is enshrined in the rice warehouse”. The Shiki-nen Sengu has therefore been a good opportunity to pass the tradition from older generations to younger generations by means of working together for the renovation; the older show their knowledge and skills and the younger learn them.  

Shiki-nen Sengu is not a renovation only for buildings but also for treasures stored in the divine buildings. The treasures-costumes, weapons (swords, allows, armors, shields…), daily goods (curtain, mirror, pen, desk…) and so forth. Every 20 year, the treasures are moved away from the shrine building and new ones are placed newly. Those items are renewed by technicians with traditional skills to make those items which cannot be automated. In this sense, Shiki-nen Sengu is said to be a good opportunity for inheritance of the traditions to younger generations.

You can also refer to my previous articles for more information;.