The Umbrella Parade: Ise Grand Shrine, September 22nd – 24th

It was during my third year of university I took a course on Japanese Religion and pop culture, it was in this class that I first learned about Shinto. Over the next two years I took more courses on Japanese and East Asian religions and learned more about Shinto and the Kami. It was due to these courses that I wanted to visit Ise and the Grand Shrine.

I had hoped on my first trip to Japan 3 years ago I would be able to make a trip to Ise, however timing and where Ise is I didn’t get to stop in the city. I knew that with my move to the country I would be stopping in at Ise to see one of the most famous Shinto Shrines in the world.

Prior to going I had to set up my trip. I found a great Ryokan online for two nights and a great rate. I then went to the travel agency to purchase my train tickets. Taking the train in Japan is quite expensive, however it is the most efficient way of travelling within the country. So I purchased tickets for the Saturday the 22^nd going to Osaka and return tickets for the 24^th using JR Rail. I didn’t buy tickets straight to Ise-shi because I wanted to save a few yen by using the Kintetsu train line from Osaka.

On the morning of the 22^nd I woke up early to catch the train out of Niihama. I would be heading to Okayama where I would be catching the Shinkansen to Osaka.

I love taking the Shinkansen because it’s both fast and a nice smooth ride. From Osaka I caught the Kintetsu to Ise. Overall it was a 7-hour train trip and it was worth it.

When I got to the hotel I found that it was traditional and quaint. I knew that I was going to be spending a nice weekend at the place. After settling in I took my camera and went exploring. I walked some nice streets and hoped that I would find a shrine or something similar. The whole area is known as Ise Jingu and is considered the noblest sanctuary in Japan. The two main sanctuaries are Geku  and Naiku and there are 125 others.

Near the inn I found Toyoukedaijingu more commonly known as Geku. It is the Outer Shrine of the Grand Shrine. It is dedicated to the deity Toyouke Omikami who was lured to the location over 1500 years ago to provide sacred food for the supreme deity Amaterasu. Toyouke Omikami is the deity for the protection of food and all industries. Most people and all annual ceremonies first go to Geku and then go onto to Naiku.

Temizuya - purification area. All shrines have them

I had a wonderful walk through the sanctuary that evening and got some wonderful shots.

That night the rain started and it continued on into the next day. I made the decision to head out to the shrine anyways because I had decided that I wanted to spend the next afternoon in Osaka. I caught the bus to the shrine and was ready with my umbrella and my camera.

Kotaijingu or Naiku as it is commonly known, is the noblest Shinto Shrine in all of Japan, if not the world. It is the sanctuary that house the Supreme deity Amaterasu Omikami. Amaterasu is the sun kami and the ancestral deity of the Japanese Imperial Family, all emperors of Japan including the current can trace their lineage all the way back to Amaterasu, giving Japan the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy. Amaterasu as a symbol of the sun means that without her there would be no light, she is also the deity that nurtures peace and harmony throughout the world.

The first torii of Naiku

River where you can purify yourself

I am also lucky that I came this year to see the official sanctuary site, as next year it will be torn down and rebuilt. This tradition has occurred every 20 years for the last 1300 years; it also means that the shape of the building has remained identical to the shape that it was originally in.Naiku is quite a large area and very beautiful to walk through. I was able to take some wonderful pictures of the forest and the sanctuaries. Because of the rain everyone was walking with umbrellas and heading in the same direction, making it look like a parade.

Naiku temizuya

The main sanctuary that houses Amaterasu

In the rain before going in to pray

After visiting the shrine and praying to Amaterasu I walked back through. By this time it had stopped raining and I was happy because I was heading to Okage Yokocho, which is the shopping street. The street has beautiful old buildings that house trinket shops as well as many other items and quite a few places to get snacks and treats. I also got to see a little bit of taiko, although I think my major taiko experience is going to be in Niihama where they have an huge annual one every year.

Here's a link to the video of the taiko: Ise Taiko

After a tiring walking day I went back to hotel to bed. I was going to be up early to catch the train back to Osaka. I spent the afternoon first at the Tokyuu Hands and then headed to the shopping district of Shinsaibashi.

All in all it was an expensive but very fun and fulfilling weekend. Another thing crossed off my Japan bucket list.

I’m thinking a blog post coming up about Shinto and one about Buddhism. It will be a good use of a lot of what I learned and a lot of the reasoning of why I wanted to come to Japan.

More photos on FB: The Umbrella Parade