Visiting Ise Shrine

This May, my wife and I visited Ise Shrine for the first time in thirty-six years, and our friend gave us a guided tour. Our visit was soon after the 42nd G7 Summit. The shrine’s Shikinen Sengu (式年遷宮, Rebuilding Ceremony) occurs every twenty years, with the most recent rebuilding occurring in 1993. My last visit was in 1980, nine years after the 1973 Shikinen Sengu. This time, we were able to visit not only the Naikū (内宮, Inner Shrine) but also the Gekū (外宮, Outer Shrine). After visiting the shrine, we had Ise Udon for lunch at Oharai Street and enjoyed shopping at Okage Yokocho street.

            According to our friend’s story, when he visited Ise Shrine soon after the Rebuilding Ceremony, the fragrance of hinoki (Japanese cypress) filled the surrounding air. The next Rebuilding Ceremony will take place in 2033, and I’ll be eighty-three years old. If God wills it, however, I hope I can visit Ise again to see the new shrine.

            Crossing the Uji Bridge over the Isuzu River, upon sight of the shrine’s forest and the far away mountains, I was surrounded by the refreshing, spiritual atmosphere and realized that this is truly a holy place.

            On June 13th, I happened to see a TV Asahi program featuring Ise Shrine, and my interest was piqued. I started to feel an obligation to compile my thoughts about Japanese History, myth, and the features of the Japanese people.

1. What is Shinto (神道)?

            There are few Japanese people who can answer this question in words, but there are many who feel like the poet Saigyō (西行) sang in his waka poem:

            Nanikotono owashimasuoba shiranedomo

                        katajikensani namidakoboreru

            I do not know who is there

                        but my tears drop deeply grateful to gods

Japanese people in general do not believe in religious doctrine, but we are grateful to spiritual beings in heaven, earth, and nature, even if they are out of sight.