Ise Shrine Tours & Travel
Club Tourism tours and trips to Ise Shrine. Ise Shrine, also known as "Oise-san" or "Daijingu-san", is the spiritual home of the Japanese people. Tour (trip) reservations are easy.
A spiritual home for the Japanese people that has remained unchanged for 2000 years
Ise Shrine
The second torii gate of the Imperial Grand Shrine of Ise (Ise Shrine Administration Office)
What kind of "place" is Ise Shrine?
Ise Grand Shrine is a special sacred place for the Japanese people, where Amaterasu Omikami, who is considered the most sacred deity in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, is enshrined, where the Japanese Imperial Family continues to perform rituals for Amaterasu Omikami even today, and where the tradition of "connecting and conveying" through the Shikinen Sengu ceremony is still alive.
To put it simply, it is a place where my normally hunched back can be straightened, and it is the spiritual home of the Japanese people, where the lives of gods and humans have coexisted since ancient times.
Annex: Kamimasuzukidono Shrine
Many gods who assist Amaterasu Omikami
About 500 years after Amaterasu Omikami was enshrined in Ise Province, Toyouke Omikami was welcomed from Tanba Province as the god in charge of food. Thus, the Inner Shrine, which enshrines Amaterasu Omikami, and the Outer Shrine, which enshrines Toyouke Omikami, were established, but the Inner Shrine also has 10 branch shrines, the Outer Shrine has 4 branch shrines, and there are also 109 auxiliary shrines, subordinate shrines, and subordinate shrines, making the Ise "Grand Shrine" a group of 125 shrines in total.
Even before Amaterasu Omikami was enshrined in Ise Province, many local gods who supported the lives of the people were enshrined there, and the auxiliary and subordinate shrines that make up the shrine are the gods that were originally enshrined in Ise. In addition, gods related to the necessities of life for Amaterasu Omikami, such as food, clothing, and shelter, came to be enshrined, and these are the shrines currently under its jurisdiction.
In other words, the Ise Grand Shrine is the prototype of Japanese life, where various gods are enshrined in nature and people have lived amid its blessings.
Kanname Festival (Island Shrine Administration Office)
The annual festival at the shrine
The festivals, which follow the ancient customs of the shrine, remind us of the gratitude we modern people have for our ancestors and nature, something that we have almost forgotten.
In particular, the most important festival at the shrine, the Kanname-sai, is the most grand festival of the year to give thanks for the blessings of nature, and is still held in almost the same format as it was in the Heian period. Many of the shrine's festivals throughout the year are related to the Kanname-sai, such as the Kanda Shimotane Festival in Apr., the Kanda Onidai Hatsu in May., and the Nukiho Festival in Sep.. After these rituals are held Oct., when autumn brings with it a good harvest, the Kanname-sai is held at the Outer Shrine on the 16th and at the Inner Shrine on the 17th, in the spirit of welcoming the new year.
New Oshiki Taga Shrine
What is Shikinen Sengu?
A once-every-20-year grand festival in which the shrine building is rebuilt
At Ise Grand Shrine, a Shikinen Sengu ceremony is held once every 20 years, in which the shrine buildings that enshrine the gods are rebuilt and the sacred object of worship is moved to another location. Shrines across the country also carry out Sengu and relocation ceremonies to repair or replace their main buildings, but a major feature of Ise Grand Shrine is that there are two sites on which the shrine buildings are built. From east to west, and from west to east. The gods of Ise have been transferred every 20 years. The climax of the Shikinen Sengu ceremony is the Sengyo ceremony, in which the sacred object of worship is moved to the new shrine. However, in addition to this ceremony, there are more than 30 festivals and events called Sengu Shosai, which are held one after the other.
