The area is heavily rural. In many places the train went through acres of farmlands with only small towns or villages separating them. It was the most rural side of Japan I've seen yet. I also noticed I could no longer see the mountains in the distance. This was not just because it was raining, but also because Ise is in a lowland region near the coast.
The train I had to take was a member of the Japan Railways group, or JR, and my unlimited rail pass works for all JR lines. However, this particular train passes over rails owned by another company. This occurs in a couple of different lines across Japan. The result is an additional fee, not covered by my rail pass, on both trips (there and back).
Anyway, once I got there, I bussed my way out to the far shrine. There are two main shrines in Ise, the Geku and the Naiku (or Outer Shrine and Inner Shrine) about a mile or two apart. Both of them are interesting because they show a style of architecture that is purely Japanese. There are no influences from China like you see in Buddhist temples. The roofs are thatched, rather than tiled, and they are capped with crosspieces of wood. On the fancier shrine buildings this wood is colored gold.
Like this.
The Ise Shrines, both Geku and Naiku, are unique among Shinto shrines in that, by tradition, they are systematically taken down and rebuilt every 20 years. And I mean every structure on the premises. This is partially meant to preserve ancient construction methods, as the construction is always done without nails or fasteners and rather uses interlocking pieces pioneered centuries ago. In many places there are empty plots next to the buildings where they will next be rebuilt (in 2013). You can see the plots in some of my pictures.
The Ise Shrines are dedicated to some of the highest level Shinto kami, or gods. There are also more than a hundred other shrines connected to the two grand shrine complexes. The Ise shrines are some of the most sacred ground in all of Japan. There are a number of side effects of this sacredness. The main complexes, for example, are off limits to the general public. You can go to the satellite shrines and come close to the main complex, but the three largest buildings are surrounded by a vision-obscuring fence over which you can only see the tops of the buildings. Photography is forbidden in the one place you can go inside the fence, so unfortunately I cannot show you what I saw. I will say this, though. The one yard in front of the shrine is filled with black pebbles, and the path is made of white pebbles.
The Ise shrines are partly so sacred because they are believed to contain the legendary mirror Yata no Kagami of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, also known as the Three Treasures. The other two are a sword (Kusanagi) and a jewel (Yasakami no Magatama). These treasures are passed down by the Imperial family and fiercely protected. Each one is an artifact as important as the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence is to the United States. As such, the high priest or priestess of the Ise shrine must be from the Imperial family. Unlike the Declaration and the Constitution, though, the artifacts are kept secretive, and even the mirror's presence at the shrine is not admitted by the government. Still, it was worth it to go to the most sacred Shrines in Japan, even if I could only see their roofs.
Cory
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