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context: architecture > origins > shinto
Ise Jingu
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the inner sanctuary at Ise Jingu |
Ise Jingu dates from the late 5th century, but as with many shrines, these are not the original buildings. The main structures were rebuilt every 19 years (20 since 1609), without changing the style at all. They build a duplicate next door, which is completed before the old is destroyed - this seems to mirror ideas of clearing the remains of the last harvest to create next year's crop, and standard enthronement rites, involving purification commemorating the old emperor, then a duplicate ceremony to celebrate the new. Note that these buildings don't look very different from 19th C buildings - tiles replaced thatched roofs by then, but stilt platforms and post and beam carpentry continue. These shrines were most similar to early granaries, which goes back to the crop metaphor, the cycle of life, again. Ise Jingu is considered to house the divine body of the sun deity Amaterasu, represented by a holy mirror.