An ancient Japanese pagan ceremony, shrouded in mystery, dating back one thousand years has been completed this week. The ceremony is done at the once-every-twenty-year renewal of Ise shrine, the home of the Japanese Imperial deities. There are 125 shrines within Ise 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-ōmikami saying "(Ise) is a secluded and pleasant land. In this land I wish to dwell." Before Yamatohime-no-mikoto's journey, Amaterasu-ōmikami had been worshiped at the imperial residence in Yamato, then briefly at Kasanui in the eastern Nara basin. Besides the traditional establishment date of 4 BCE, 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. The shrine was foremost among a group of shrines which became objects of imperial patronage in the early Heian period. 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. From the late 7th century until the 14th century, the role of high priestess of Ise Shrine was carried out by a female member of the Japanese imperial family, known as a Saiō. According to the Man'yōshū, The Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves, the first Saiō to serve at the shrine was princess Okunohime-miko, daughter of Emperor Temmu, during the Asuka period of Japanese history. Mention of Ise Shrine's Saiō is also made in the Aoi, Sakaki and Yugao chapters of The Tale of Genji, as well as in the 69th chapter of The Tales of Ise (Ise Monogatari). The Saiō system ended during the turmoil of the Nambokucho Period. During the Empire of Japan period, and the establishment of State Shinto, the position of high priest of the Ise Shrine was fulfilled by the reigning Emperor, and Emperors Meiji, Taisho and Showa all played the role of high priest during their reigns. Since the disestablishment of State Shinto during the Occupation of Japan, the offices of high priest and most sacred priestess have been held by former members of the imperial family or their descendants. The current high priest of the shrine is Takatsukasa Naotake, adoptive son of Takatsukasa Kazuko. He succeeded Kitashirakawa Michihisa, a great-grandson of the Meiji Emperor, in 2007. Kitashirakawa Michihisa succeeded his cousin Kuni Kuniaki, the eldest son of former Prince Kuni Asaakira (brother of Empress Kōjun), in 2001. Kitashirakawa's grandmother, Kitashirakawa Fusako, the seventh daughter of the Meiji Emperor, served as most sacred priestess of the Ise Shrine from 1947 until her death in 1974. She was succeeded in that post by Takatsukasa Kazuko, the third daughter of the Shōwa Emperor, who held the post until ill health forced her retirement in 1988. Takatsukasa was succeeded by her younger sister, Ikeda Atsuko. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhUOpBKorio FAIR USE NOTICE: This Video may contain copyrighted (© ) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text

• published: 04 Oct 2013
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