Ise Jingu (Grand Shrine of Ise)
Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan
The head shrine of Amaterasu worship in Japan, torn down and rebuilt identically every twenty years for more than thirteen centuries, the next renewal due in 2033.
Ise Jingu, officially simply Jingu, is a complex of 125 shrines centered on the Kotaijingu (Naiku), dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu-Omikami, with the Toyo''uke-daijingu (Geku), dedicated to the food goddess Toyo''uke-no-Omikami, a few kilometers away. The imperial house has kept the Naiku since the early centuries of Japanese state formation, and the shrine''s timber architecture, white gravel paths and layered fences set a deliberate boundary between ordinary ground and sanctuary.
The defining practice is the Shikinen Sengu: every twenty years the shrine buildings are completely rebuilt on adjacent sites over roughly nine years, and the treasures, furnishings and garments are renewed with them, a cycle now past 1,300 years, with the 62nd rebuilding in 2013 and the 63rd set for 2033. Visitors see the forests, the bridges over the Isuzu river, and the outer fences; the innermost sanctuaries are never entered, by anyone, and the shrine''s own guidance is to visit Geku first and Naiku second.
Visiting
The shrine''s official site covers the grounds, hours (roughly sunrise to sunset) and etiquette; entry is free, and the traditional order is Geku first, then Naiku. The mapped point marks the Naiku.
Photo: The Naiku approach along the Isuzu river, [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ise_grand_shrine_Naiku_,_%E4%BC%8A%E5%8B%A2%E7%A5%9E%E5%AE%AE_%E5%86%85%E5%AE%AE_-_panoramio_%281%29.jpg), CC BY 3.0, z tanuki.
Associated traditions & practices
Traditions from this region
Traditions historically rooted in this region — offered as background context, not as a claim about this particular place.
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