4 days ago
Japan's Ise Jingu shrine welcomes sacred wood for rebuilding divine palace for 2033 ritual
ISE, Mie -- Hundreds of people on June 9 welcomed the arrival of the sacred wood that will be used to rebuild a divine palace at Ise Jingu shrine in this central Japan city for a ritual held every 20 years.
In preparation for the 2033 Shikinen Sengu renewal ritual, shrine halls and the divine palace to enshrine the deity among other structures at Ise Jingu are being reconstructed. A grand welcoming ceremony was held in front of the Uji Bridge at the Naiku inner shrine June 9. The wood was then transported upstream on the Isuzu River to the sacred precincts of the inner shrine.
The sacred logs, measuring 6.6 meters long and weighing approximately 1.5 metric tons each, were harvested from Agematsu, Nagano Prefecture, and Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture. They arrived on a truck draped with red and white curtains. After a purification ritual by the shrine priests, the wood was paraded through the city to Uji Bridge, where it was warmly welcomed by residents with the Ise Ondo, a traditional folk song.
Subsequently, the logs were transferred to river sleds downstream of Urata Bridge. About 200 participants, including staff from the Shikinen Sengu construction agency wearing black-dyed coats and hinoki cypress hats, students from the local Kogakkan University and representatives of a team to pull the logs, energetically pulled the sleds up the Isuzu River to enthusiastic chants of "Enya, enya," as they entered the sacred area.
At around 6 p.m., the procession reached the north end of Kazahinomi-no-miya Bridge, where the wood was lifted and carried along the approach to the shrine. It was purified by priests at the Gojoden building and put in the sanctuary.
(Japanese original by Tadayuki Otake and Yuki Kozawa, Ise Bureau)
