Pilgrimage to Ise ~JUL,2025~

Although I say I like Japanese history, I have never actually visited Ise Grand Shrine, and I felt a little inferior. I have visited many large shrines, but while I felt a special presence and power, I also felt like I had stepped into a deep, mysterious forest of ancient history. I traveled around from a lodging in Ago Bay, and Matsusaka beef, spiny lobster, and Ise udon were very energizing. Ise-Shima is often lumped together, and while I was immersed in the scenic views and delicious food, I felt like I was able to understand the divine will of Amaterasu Omikami, who had the humility to settle here.

Before entering the sacred area, I got off the highway in Matsusaka and paid my respects to Motoori Norinaga, one of the four great scholars of Japanese classics. Inside Matsusaka Castle, there is his old house and museum, which were moved during the Meiji period. Tsutaya Juzaburo, who appears in the NHK historical drama "Berabou," lived in the same era and came to Matsusaka to ask if he could handle Norinaga's books. The story of the drama will soon move on to Tanuma's downfall and Matsudaira Sadanobu's appointment as a senior councilor after being banished to Shirakawa, in other words, the "Kansei Reforms." I'm looking forward to Morishita's script to see how Tsutajyu's "Koshodo" will change its business. So, will Motoori Norinaga appear, and if so, who will play him?

Matsusaka Castle was built by Gamo Ujisato, and is designated as one of the 100 most famous castles in Japan. Its rough stone walls still look beautiful today. Ujisato was later appointed to Aizu by Hideyoshi's "Oshu Shioki" and promoted the modernization of Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle. During the Edo period, it was the main castle of an exclave of the Kishu Domain until the Meiji Restoration, but it is more commonly known as a town of merchants, including Mitsui.

After greeting Motoori Norinaga, we headed to Saigū. Saigū is an Imperial Princess who serves the Ise Grand Shrine as the Emperor's representative. Emperor Tenmu sent Princess Ookunohimemiko to the Ise Grand Shrine and established the system by establishing Saigū and an office (Saigū-ryo) there. This continued for about 700 years until the time of Emperor Godaigo's daughter in the first half of the 14th century.

According to the Nihon Shoki, Amaterasu Omikami was originally enshrined in the Emperor's palace, but Emperor Sujin considered this too reverent and moved it to Kasanui Village in Yamato. The next Emperor, Suinin's daughter, Yamatohimemiya, then traveled to search for a suitable location and received divine revelation that this location was the best, so the current Inner Shrine was built there.

On the other hand, the Outer Shrine was moved by Emperor Yuryaku from the shrine of Toyouke Omikami in Tanba, who is the daughter of Wakumusuhi, born from the urine of the goddess Izanami, and is the goddess in charge of food (Kojiki). Amaterasu Omikami is the daughter of the male god Izanagi, and is considered the ancestor of the Imperial family because Emperor Jimmu came from her five generations later, but some questions arise.

Why was it necessary to place the Tamba god as the outer shrine next to the inner shrine, the supreme deity of the imperial family?

What do you think about the 400 to 500 years (from Emperor Suinin to Emperor Yuryaku) between the construction of the Inner Shrine and the Geku?

Shrines are usually places where the ancestors of the imperial family are enshrined, but is the Geku also regarded as such?

In Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture, there are Motomiya, where the Inner Shrine and Outer Shrine of Ise Jingu are said to have originally been located. What does the move from Tanba to Ise mean? What is the relationship between the two gods? The answers are not easy to find, but I have to go to Tanba.

As I was thinking about this and that and walking along the approach to the Geku, an old man with a manicure-like personality started talking to me. He said that there was an interesting shrine if you go down this side street. It's a small shrine, but it's called Wataraikunimi Shrine. The old man said that when Emperor Yuryaku tried to move Toyouke Omikami from Tanba, he moved it to the side of the Geku and made it a sub-shrine. The main deity is Ise Kuni no Miyatsuko and Hikokunimigaki Takeyotsuka no Mikoto, who may have been a local nobleman who was conquered by the Yamato royal authority. I don't know why he called out to me, but I started to worry that I was giving off that kind of aura.

Both shrines have 125 shrines, including branch shrines, so it is difficult to visit them all, but since it was a weekday, I was able to find a parking space at the main branch shrine in the city and was able to go around relatively smoothly. Yamatohime Shrine is a key figure in Ise Shrine, but the shrine was built quite recently and is said to date back to the Taisho era.

In the mountains of Shima, there is a cave called "Amanoiwato", a waterfall and a shrine, and the pearl king Kokichi Mikimoto built a path to the shrine, so you can drive up to it. There is a changing room nearby, and you can practice your asceticism by being hit by the miraculous waterfall, which has been selected as one of the 100 famous waters in Japan.

The Ise-Shima Skyline runs through Mt. Asakuma, which is over 550m high, and visitors can enjoy the view of Ise Bay. The temple buildings of Kongosho-ji Temple, built in the 6th century, line the mountainside, and you can sense the historical connection that has coexisted with Ise Grand Shrine. When trees on the mountains fell during the Ise Bay Typhoon, the remains of a sutra mound from the 12th century were discovered. A huge number of sutra tubes and other offerings were excavated, and some of them have been designated national treasures.

The Ise Grand Shrine Shikinen Sengu ceremony began in the reign of Empress Jito (690) and has been held every 20 years, but after the Onin War, the finances of the Muromachi Shogunate deteriorated, and the last ceremony was the Sengu of the Inner Shrine in 1462, which had not been held for about 120 years. Concerned about this situation, Seijun-ni and Shuyo-ni, the chief priests of Keiko-in, continued to raise funds for the ceremony, and with the support of Oda Nobunaga, the Sengu ceremony was finally revived in 1585. The graves of both nuns can be found on the approach to the inner shrine of Kongosho-ji Temple. Keiko-in was abandoned after the Meiji Restoration, but Ise Grand Shrine took over the building and protects and manages it as a shrine facility.

The aforementioned Yamatohime-no-Mikoto drifted and drifted until she finally arrived at the current site of the Inner Shrine. It was Sarutahiko-no-Okami who guided her along the way, and it is said that his incarnation is a rock called Okitama Shinseki, which is located 700 meters below sea level offshore. This rock is the main deity of Futami Okitama Shrine. Unfortunately, it is now submerged due to an earthquake during the Horeki era (1751-1764), but the top can sometimes be seen at low tide. The famous Meoto Iwa rocks are a torii gate for worshiping them, and it is said that it is best to admire them as the sun rises, but recently sunrises have been around 5pm, so we refrained from doing so.

The next Sengu will be held in 2033, and the adjacent land is fully vacant. As Japanese people, we are mentally prepared to pay close attention and cooperate.

You are not allowed to enter the Isuzu River that flows beside the Inner Shrine, but when I looked, I saw a staff member inside the river making a fuss. Apparently someone had dropped their glasses and was searching in the water. I was glad they were found safely, but you should not drop anything in a sacred river. Be careful.

Looking out over the sea of Shima, I felt like I could understand why Amaterasu Omikami chose this place.