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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Ise Grand Shrine

Luckily, today I had an opportunity to join the one-day tour to Ise Grand Shrine in Mie Prefecture, which I won in a lottery of a certain cafe.


Ise Grand Shrine is considered to be the most sacred Shinto shrine in Japan. Why?
Because it enshrines the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami, who is believed to be the ancestor of the Japanese Imperial family. For this reason, the Emperor visits here when he assumes office, and on other important occasions. They say it was founded roughly 2000 years ago.


In the Edo period (1603-1868), Ise Grand Shrine is the important pilgrimage site most Japanese people wanted to visit in their life.
In the huge compound, I breathed a clean air and felt a solemn feeling.
I love the limpid river and super-beautiful carps.


2 comments:

  1. I've heard that Ise pilgrimage in Edo period is one of sightseeing tour origins in Japan.

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  2. Wow, it was the pioneer in the Japanese tourism.

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