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, located in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture, Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu-ōmikami. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is in fact a shrine complex composed of a large number of Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inner Shrine, Naikū (also officially known as "Kotai Jingū"), is located in the town of Uji-tachi, south of central Ise City, and is dedicated to the worship of Amaterasu-ōmikami. The Outer Shrine, Gekū (also officially known as "Toyouke Daijingu"), is located about six kilometers from Naikū and dedicated to Toyouke no ōmikami, the deity of agriculture and industry.〔Ise Jingu official homepage, http://www.isejingu.or.jp/english/gegu/gegu.htm〕 Besides Naikū and Gekū, there are an additional 123 Shinto shrines in Ise City and the surrounding areas, 91 of them connected to Naikū and 32 to Gekū.〔(Ise Jingu official homepage )〕 Purportedly the home of the Sacred Mirror, the shrine is one of Shinto's holiest and most important sites. Access to both sites is strictly limited, with the common public allowed to see little more than the thatched roofs of the central structures, hidden behind four tall wooden fences. The chief priest or priestess of Ise Shrine must come from the Japanese imperial family and is responsible for watching over the Shrine. The two main shrines of Ise are joined by a pilgrimage road that passes through the old entertainment district of Furuichi. The region around the shrines consists of the Ise-Shima National Park and numerous other holy and historic sites including the "wedded rocks" (Meoto Iwa), and the Saiku (the site of the Heian period imperial residence).〔Hoffman, Michael, "(Symbols of heaven on Earth )", ''Japan Times'', March 14, 2010, p. 8.〕 ==The establishment of the Shrine== According to the ''Nihon Shoki'', around 2,000 years ago the divine Yamatohime-no-mikoto, daughter of the Emperor Suinin, set out from Mt. Miwa in modern Nara Prefecture in search of a permanent location to worship the goddess Amaterasu-ōmikami, wandering for 20 years through the regions of Ohmi and Mino. Her search eventually brought her to Ise, in modern Mie Prefecture, where she is said to have established Naikū after hearing the voice of Amaterasu saying "(Ise) is a secluded and pleasant land. In this land I wish to dwell."〔''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697'', trans. W. G. Aston (Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle, 1972), 176.〕 Before Yamatohime-no-mikoto's journey, Amaterasu had been worshiped at the imperial residence in Yamato, then briefly at Kasanui in the eastern Nara basin. When Princess Yamatohime-no-mikoto arrived at the village of Uji-tachi, she set up fifty bells to designate the area as enshrined for the goddess Amaterasu, which is why the river is called Isuzu, or "fifty bells".〔(Isuzu "fifty bells" reference )〕 Besides the traditional establishment date of 4 B.C.E.,〔''Encyclopædia Britannica - Ise Shrine'' http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9368233〕 other dates of the 3rd and 5th centuries have been put forward for the establishment of Naikū and Gekū respectively. The first shrine building at Naikū was erected by Emperor Temmu (678-686), with the first ceremonial rebuilding being carried out by his wife, Empress Jito, in 692.〔''Sacred Places - Ise Shrine'' http://witcombe.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/ise.html〕 The shrine was foremost among a group of shrines which became objects of imperial patronage in the early Heian period.〔Breen, John ''et al.'' (2000). ( ''Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami,'' pp. 74-75. )〕 In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered imperial messengers to be sent to report important events to the guardian ''kami'' of Japan. These ''heihaku'' were initially presented to 16 shrines including the Ise Shrine.〔Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' pp. 116-117.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ise Grand Shrine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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