Ise Grand Shrine

Ise Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine complex in Mie Prefecture, Japan, dedicated principally to Amaterasu. Its two principal sanctuaries, Inner Shrine and Outer Shrine, are rebuilt on a twenty-year cycle.

Naikū: Naikū is the Inner Shrine at Ise, dedicated to Amaterasu and regarded as the complex’s principal sanctuary. This is the shrine complex’s central sanctuary and the home of Amaterasu’s sacred mirror.
Kodenchi: Kodenchi is the adjacent sacred building site reserved for rebuilding a major Ise sanctuary. The alternating plots make it possible to construct a new sanctuary beside the old one.
Nihon Shoki: Nihon Shoki is an eighth-century chronicle of Japan’s early history and mythology. Its account connects the shrine’s origins with the imperial establishment of Amaterasu’s worship.
Saiō: A Saiō was an imperial princess appointed to serve Amaterasu at Ise in ancient and medieval Japan. These imperial priestesses embodied the court’s connection to Amaterasu’s sanctuary.
Ise Pilgrimage: Ise pilgrimage is travel to the Grand Shrine, undertaken for religious devotion and cultural reasons. The shrine’s sanctity drew pilgrims from across Japan, especially during major pilgrimage booms.
Gekū: Gekū is the Outer Shrine at Ise, dedicated to Toyouke-Ōmikami, a deity associated with food and sustenance. Its separate sanctuary complements Naikū and supplies the complex’s ritual offerings.
Shikinen Sengū Daikyō: Shikinen Sengū Daikyō is the major Ise rebuilding ceremony held once every twenty years. It marks the culmination of the rebuilding cycle with the transfer of sacred objects.
Yamato-hime-no-mikoto: Yamato-hime-no-mikoto is a legendary imperial princess said to have established Amaterasu’s shrine at Ise. Her story explains the tradition that Amaterasu’s sanctuary was settled at Ise.
Saiō System: The Saiō system appointed an imperial princess to serve at Ise, especially during the Heian period. It formalized the imperial court’s service to the shrine through a dedicated priestess.
Okage Mairi: Okage Mairi was a mass pilgrimage to Ise, particularly associated with surges in the Edo period. These collective journeys show how devotion to Ise could become a nationwide movement.

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