Ise Jingu

Known affectionately as "Oise-san," the shrine is usually called "Ise Jingu-Shrine," but officially, it is called "Jingu-Shrine". There are 125 shrines, including the Naiku-Sharine (Kotai-Jingu /Imperial Grand Shrine), which enshrines Amaterasu Omikami, the ancestral deity of the Imperial Family, and the Geku-Shrine (Toyo'ukedaijingu-Shrine), which enshrines the guardian deity of food, clothing, shelter, and industry, as well as other shrines, including annexes, branch shrines, and other shrines under the jurisdiction of the shrine. The shrine pavilions are made of cypress in the ancient Japanese architectural style called "Shinmei-zukuri." Every 20 years, the two main shrines and 14 annexes are rebuilt, and the go-shintai is moved to a new location.

The Naiku Shrine, built some 2,000 years ago during the reign of Emperor Suinin Tennou, has as its sacred object "The Yata no Kagami," the Holy Mirror, one of the Sanshu no Jingi (three sacred treasures of Japan). Near the Naiku is a shrine lined with four Betsu ku(separate shrines): Tsukiyomi no Miya, which enshrines Tsukiyomi no Mikoto, Tsukiyomi Aramitama no Miya, Isanagi no Miya, which enshrines Amaterasu-Omikami and Tsukiyomi no Mikoto's parent deity, and Izanami no Miya.

Five hundred years after the construction of the Naiku Shrine, Toyouke-no-Omikami, the deity responsible for Amaterasu-Omikami's meals, was brought in from Tamba Province to build the Geku Shrine. Since then, the ritual of offering meals twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, to Amaterasu- Omikami, Aidono no Kami, and the deities of the Betsuku, has continued at the Outer Shrine.