- Address: 〒739-0588 Hiroshima Prefecture, Hatsukaichi, 宮 島 町 1-1, Japan
- Phone: +81 829 44 2020
- Website: www.sp.itsukushimajinja.jp/index.html
- Foundation date: 6th century
At half an hour from Hiroshima there is Isukushima Island (it is also called Miyajima), which is considered sacred for both Buddhists and Shinto; it is believed that this is the place where God lives. There are many temples on the island. The Itukushima Shrine is one of the symbols of Japan and is recognized as a national treasure. In addition, in 1996 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Itukushima - a sanctuary on the water: it is erected on stilts. Believers believed that building buildings on the earth, on which the gods dwell, would be sacrilegious.
A bit of history
Itukushima Shrine was built in the 6th century. Up to now, the buildings of that time have not reached - they have been rebuilt several times. Today the temple looks like it looked in 1168 after reconstruction, conducted under the leadership of the military and political figure Tyra-no Kiemori. Although all the designs that survived to this day were created in the 16th century, the original design of the sanctuary was preserved.
There is not a single burial on the island - it was forbidden to bury the dead here, as well as to give birth. Before going to the island, all the visitors were examined, and too old people, as well as pregnant women, were simply not allowed here. In addition, commoners were also denied access to the island.
Most of these bans have already been left in the past, but some have survived to this day. For example, you can not bring dogs to the island so that they do not scare away the birds, which are the embodiment of the souls of the dead.
Ritual Gates
Gate, or thorium of Itukushima are installed directly in the bay. At low tide the land around them is exposed, it is possible to walk along it; all the rest of the time you can only swim by boat. It is believed that if you go to them on foot and put a coin in one of the cracks, then the wish will come true. The gate is the youngest of the rest of the complex - the first "version" was installed in 1168, and a modern design was created in 1875.
The thorium of the Itucushima shrine is made of camphor wood and painted in red. Their height is 16 m, and the length of the horizontal crossbar is more than 24 m. It is they who are most often depicted in the advertising booklets devoted to Itucushima, but they represent only a small part of the complex.
The gate, according to Shinto beliefs, represents the boundary between the world of people and the world of spirits, it is like a connecting link between worlds. The red color of the gate also carries a semantic load.
Sanctuary
The sanctuary itself is a set of wooden buildings erected, as already mentioned, on stilts. They are painted white, and their tent roofs - in red. The halls of these buildings are designed for various religious rites. You can not visit all of them - most of it is available only for the clergy.
Between the buildings of the temple of Itukushima are connected by covered galleries, and the entire complex with the island is connected by a richly decorated wooden bridge. The main temple is built on the island itself, on the hillside. It is a five-story pagoda erected in honor of the daughters of the storm god Susanna, the goddesses of the elements. In it you can visit the Hall of thousands of mats, where the worshipers worshiped the goddesses. By the way, they were considered patrons of sailors, therefore Itsukumu is sometimes called the temple of sailors.
In addition, the complex has a temple built in honor of a Japanese minister who lived in the 10th century and was deified after his death.
Other attractions of the island
In addition to the Shinto shrine of Itukushima, there are other things on the island that deserve attention. It is worth going up to the mountain Misen, which is believed to inhabit the gods. It has a beautiful view of the bay, which is among the top three Japanese landscapes. Climbing the mountain, you can see a lot of Buddha statues.
You can climb the mountain as you walk, admiring the rocks of a bizarre shape, or you can do some of the way on the cable car. At the top of the burning sacred fire, lit, according to legend, the founder of one of the directions of Buddhism, Kobo-Daisy Kukai. It is believed that if you boil holy water on this fire and drink it, you will get rid of all diseases.
How to get to the sights?
Itukushima Shrine is one of the places of Japan that are mandatory. You can get to the island by ferry from Hiroshima . You can also go on a pleasure boat or on a boat. The best time to visit the sanctuary is the middle and end of November - the colors of the autumn forest emphasize the beauty of the complex itself.