Historical and Cultural Sites in Ise-Shima
Ise-Shima National Park is Japan’s spiritual heartland, with a long history and deep cultural roots. It is the home of Ise Jingu—the country’s foremost jinja (Shinto shrine)—and a number of other important sites.
Ise Jingu’s traditions have been handed down over a history of more than 2,000 years. The shrine is dedicated to the kami (Shinto deity) Amaterasu Omikami, and is surrounded by a sacred forest known as the Kyuikirin, which gives the complex a tranquil atmosphere.
Mt. Asama is the highest point in the park at 555 meters. Near the peak stands Kongoshoji, a Buddhist temple that was founded in the sixth century. The approach to the inner sanctuary of Kongoshoji leads through a cemetery of sotoba, wooden grave markers up to eight meters tall.
Meoto Iwa (Wedded Rocks) are two sacred rocks that jut out of the sea just off the coast. They are connected by a shimenawa, a rope that in the Shinto tradition acts as a division between the physical and spiritual realms. The rope is replaced three times a year in a ritual called Oshimenawahari Shinji.