Ise, Japan:Ise and its surrounding regions are home to many of the most important temples and shrine

Ise, Japan:Ise and its surrounding regions are home to many of the most important temples and shrines in Shintoism, a Japanese ethnic religion whose earliest recorded practices date back to the eighth century. Ise Jingū, or Ise Grand Shrine, is particularly important in Shintoism and is a shrine complex centered around two main shrines called Naikū (inner shrine) and Gekū (outer shrine). Naikū is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu and is believed to be her dwelling place. Gekū is dedicated to Toyouke Ōmikami, the god of agriculture. Since its founding in the 4th century, Ise Jingū has been directly connected with the Japanese royal family as their lineage is believed to be descended from Amaterasu herself, and because the shrine is purportedly home to Yata no kagami, the sacred mirror that forms part of the Japanese imperial regalia. Consequently, the chief priest or priestess of Ise Jingū must always be from the imperial household.Because of this royal connection, Ise and its nearby sites have featured prominently in Japanese literary masterpieces such as The Tale of Genji and The Tales of Ise, which revolve strongly around court life. The Brooklyn Museum’s 17th century hanging scroll, which depicts a scene from The Tale of Genji, as well as its tsuba (sword guard), which shows two characters from The Tales of Ise, attest to the importance of royal pilgrimages to Ise in Japanese culture.   Royal pilgrimages from the capital also often involved hiking kumanokodo, a network of pilgrimage trails that we also hiked, which lead to three key Shinto shrines collectively known as Kumano sanzan: Hongu taisha, Nachi taisha, and Hatayama taisha. On our last few days, we trekked to the Shinto shrine Meotoiwa, also known as the “married couple rocks” because of the shimenawa (sacred rope in Shintoism) that links a larger rock to a smaller one and signifies the eternal bond between a husband and wife. And finally, we ended our trip full of Shinto sites with a visit to the Buddhist temple Tsumekirifudōson, where the founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, Kūkai, purportedly carved an image of the wrathful god, Fudō Myōō using his fingernails. Having satisfied our spiritual curiosities in Kyoto and Ise, we headed back to Tokyo for more secular aims, just in time for the beginning of cherry blossom season! Posted by Amanda Imai -- source link

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