2000 Year Reconstruction History of Japan's Ise Shrine

History of Pre-modern architecture

March 12, 2014

Kamigataya kanda Tokyo, Sakurafuchi Postcard circa 1905

http://inishienoise.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2007-08-13

Stone buildings are tyranny. Their hard wearing faces are formed by force, and

withstand the test of time so long as no greater force dedicates itself it that
buildings demise. We have, in the west, a strong history of stone buildings and
with few exceptions this is thanks to a history of despotism often accompanied by
slavery. These resulting buildings and their indifference to anything less than a
destructive force are the centerpiece of our architectural history, and we reward
their persistence with scholarly attention.
There is another history. It is out of abhorrence that we might turn our gaze away
from buildings who strive to immortalize their commissioners, and look instead to
Japan were in a long history of natural disasters has indentured its people to the
idea that neither architecture nor society is everlasting. The medium of wood, in
contrast to stone, requires upkeep and a legacy of tradesmen to maintain, and it
It is these that make the Grand Shrines of Ise such a compelling building. All
scholarly analysis of the buildings form hearkens back onto the conclusion that
the buildings form is that of a vernacular grain silo, albeit an embellished one. 1 2
3 4 5

This makes the Ise Grand Shrines of Japan in peculiar building to study. By far its
most notable feature is its periodical reconstruction - which has taken place every
20 years since the year 400. This defining trait isnt so much a feature of the
building itself, but rather that of the socio religious framework surrounding the
building. To further the idea of the Ise grand shrine being a social centerpiece it is
interesting to know that it is directly styled after a vernacular grain silo, albeit an
embellished one. That such a humble building might be the epicentre of japanese
nationalism, the physical domicile for the god of the sun, and the shrine from
which the emperor draws his power is a clue that the Ise cant be understood
simply as a building. The shrines feeble physical presence, but boisterous
identity has led to fascinating physical interpolations by its worshippers which
deserve analysis when understanding the shrines importance.
The History of Ise would be an unchanging cycle of reconstructions if it were not
1 Adams, Cassandra. 1998. "Japan's Ise Shrine and its Thirteen-Hundred-Year-Old
Reconstruction Tradition." Journal of Architectural Education (1984-) 52 (1): 60.

2 Asahi Shinbunsha, Kenz Tange, and Noboru Kawazoe. 1965. "Ise, Prototype of
Japanese Architecture." In . Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press.

3 Bock, Felicia G. 1974. "The Rites of Renewal at Ise." Monumenta Nipponica 29 (1): 68.
4 Hladik, Murielle. 2000. "Ise: Japan's Ise Shrines, Ancient and New" Architecture
d'Aujourd'Hui (328): 4.

5 Fukuyama, Toshio. 1961. "The Ise Shrine." Japan Architect 36: 12.

for a series mass pilgrimages, called okagemairi in the years 1605, 1652, 1705,
1771 and 1830. If we are to take the estimates of the historian Motoori Norinaga,
230 000 pilgrims cross gates leading to Ise province during one day of the 1705
mass pilgrimage. He estimates the total number of visitors in fifty days to be
close to 5 620 000 - an astonishing number when consider the population of
Japan to be 29 million.6 Of these five great of pilgrimages to Ise were as much as
one sixth of the country might travel to Ise in one year, not a single one of the
pilgrims have actually reached the shrine as it has been walled from view. what
follows is a chronicle of The Ise Grand shrines identity, recounted to us today by
the artifacts of the shrines patrons.

One of the amazing byproducts of these massive okagemairi pilgrimages was a

proprietary money system for those travelling to Ise. The Yamano hagaki 8 is
6 Harada Tomohiko and Asakura Naohiko .Nihon shomin seikatsu
shiry shsei Vol. 11 (Tokyo: Sanichi Shob, 1970): p.101

7 Yamato Hagaki note, in on wash paper, 1970 (Bank of japan, currency museum,
Tokyo). http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/research/papers/japanese/11-J-20.pdf

8 called Yamano-hagaki

second oldest paper currency in the world and was first used by pilgrims at Ise. It
was initially used by pilgrims who traveled to ise and couldnt carry the metal
money commonly used in Japan at the time. This paper money was only used by
pilgrims in the town of Ise and would have been exchanged upon arrival and
departure of Ise city. Originally invented 1610, and became an official japanese
currency 1790.9 Despite being being an important monetary developpement, it
was originally invented by Onshi living Ise area who were the equivalent of what
we know as exorcists.10
Adding to the strangeness of the Ise Grand shrine and its fledgling money
system, was that it was considered bad luck to not give money to a begging
pilgrim. Legends about the divine retribution that befell upon misers who
refused to provide pilgrims with alms circulated, for instance, in Shikoku, where
every pilgrim was believed to be a potential manifestation of Kb Daishi.11 12
This courtesy was more and more commonly exploited by those en route to Ise in
later pilgrimages. Be that by storming out the door with little more than a
begging bowl in hand, a great many Edo travelers managed to make it to Ise with
all costs practically covered 13 In this case, some pilgrims used begging as a
form of sacred manipulation.14
By the late pilgrimages, the illicit money system initiated by the Onsi was so well
established that rich merchants would vie to disperse as much of the money as
they could, in hopes that they might be heralding good fortune from the Ise
Grand Shrines or the potential Kb Daishi. In 1771 Knoike Zenzaemon, a
wealthy Osaka merchant, was still providing generous contributions to the
okagemairi pilgrims, giving alms to some 184,000 people over six days, for a
grand total of four hundred and sixty ry.15 This was equivalent to 50 times the
9 Yotaro Sakudo , National encyclopedia vol. 11
(Tokyo:Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1985): 151

10 Originally called kito-shi

11 Clever priest turned god, Original
12 Laura Nenzi, "To Ise at All Costs," Journal of Japanese Religious Studies 75 (2001):
87

13 Ibid, 88.
14 Ian Reader, "Making pilgrimages: meaning and practice in Shikoku," (Honululu:
university of hawaii press): 121, 124

15 Shinj Tsunez , "Shaji to kts: Kumano mde to Ise mairi"

(Tokyo: Shibund, 1960): 155

average yearly wage of a labourer.16

17

The wild success of the money system eventually led to it being assimilated by
the japanese government, and it is under their control that the above variant of
coin was developed. By 1790, the japanese government had put in place laws
that attempted to limit the amount of people who could embark on an okagemairi
pilgrimage. Shown here on the Ise currency is a warning to all those who might
unlawfully embark on pilgrimages without the newly instated passport like system
shown below. Because farmers wanting to take pilgrimages to Ise would lose an
entire years harvest while traveling, meant that mass pilgrimages posed the risk
of causing famines. Ise pilgrimage (authorized and not) was strong in Moriyama
domain (in the northern sh region) because a round trip to the shrine
would require an absence from the fields of at least forty to fifty days (Fukai
1977, 147).18

16 One hundred mon or zeni was the equivalent of one days wage for a day laborer
(Anne Walthall, The Weak body of a Useless Woman, (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1998): 155

17 Haraguchi Torao , Takeuchi Toshimi , Miyamoto Tsuneichi ,

"Nihon shomin seikatsu shiry shsei" 12 (Tokyo: Sanichi Shob,

1971): 21

18 Fukai Jinz , Kinsei ni okeru nukemairi no tenkai to sono shutai

(Toyama: Hashira, 1977): 50

19

If the appropriation of the Ise currency and adoption of the Ise pass system did in
fact reduce the number of okagemairi pilgrimages is hard to tell, the numbers of
pilgrims seems eerily consistent despite less and less passes being distributed. A
suspected 5 100 000 pilgrims visit Ise in 1771 and over 5 000 000 again in 1830,
the difference being that with every subsequent pilgrimage more and more
people did so without the proper documentation. These unlawful pilgrimages
even get their own name, called nukemairi.
Along with administration limiting the number of pilgrims, comes the interesting
19 Katsube-mura city website http://1st.geocities.jp/toyonakatsube/iseko.html

20 Hiroshige Utagawa "Visiting Ise Jingu" colored woodblock on washi

paper, 1855 (Miyagawa, Tokyo)

occurrence of animal pilgrimages. If owners could not acquire the documentation

required for a pilgrimage, they could send an animal in their stead; vicariously
giving the owner the experience of having done the pilgrimage. We hear rumors
that even cows and dogs have sneaked out. In the middle of the fourth month
they have come ... from their regions. Young and old, men and women alike, they
all have run away.21 Shown above is a depiction of a great pilgrimage of 1771 in
which a dog can be seen in the bottom of the left hand panel.

22

Intrepid exorcists living around Ise, eventually known as Onshi, have a have a
deep interrelation throughout Ises history. This faction actually lived in ise and as
pilgrimages became more popular, they assumed the profitable position
ambassadors to the Ise Grand Shrines by catering more and more to the pilgrims
who were flooding to the area in ever greater numbers. These Onshi (shown
above welcoming Ise pilgrims) managed to systematically pander to these mostly
male pilgrims who initially needed places to stay and guides of the area. These
21 Zedshi , Shokoku nukemairi yume monogatari , microfilm
folios 2 and 3 (Tokyo: Iwanami, 1771)

22 Kangetsu Shitomi , Rito Akisato , The Pictured Guide of Ise

(Kyoto and Osaka: Waseda University archives, 1797): 6

pilgrims came with money, and where increasingly well funded as the okagemairi
system became further established.23

The fledgling money system was used by pilgrims and would supposedly herald
good fortune to those who used it. This eventually gave rise to an entertainment
district in which the mostly male pilgrims could squander money on prostitution
and gambling while supposedly heralding good fortune. In the fantastic illustrated
Guidebook to Ise of 1797 shown above depicts a brothel in which some of the
most faithful shinto japanese could commonly be found. Amazingly, it is thought
that over a thousand prostitutes lived in Ise area during the Edo era.25
This makes The ise grand shrines of the 15th-19th century more akin to a Las
Vegas than a Vatican City, but its important to know that this was all a ploy by the
Onshi to generate capital to pay for the increasingly lavis rebuildings. It is in this
23 Noriko Fujii , Minting of Yamada-Hagaki by Shogunal federal
government , Institute for Monetary and Economic
Studies Bank of (Japan: Tokyo: 2012): 54

24 Kangetsu Shitomi , Rito Akisato , The Pictured Guide of Ise

(Kyoto and Osaka: Waseda University archives, 1797): 38

25 Helen Hardacre, "Religion and the japanese workforce", Journal of japanese study
104 (2000): 300

vein that we hear say of the Cult of Ise; the Ise Grand Shrine strove independent
of the government which had proven to be a wavering source of income
throughout different candidacies. Even today, the Ise grand shrines are still
completely funded by private donations, despite the reconstruction costs being
close to 50 million dollars in 1993.26

This fledgling economy and money system is based on the omnipotence of the
Ise Grand Shrine and one of the peculiar byproducts which have propped up in
the shadow of the Ise Grand shrine. The Masha28 are another prime example of
this disparity between the religious significance of the Ise Grand shrines and the
nonchalant money making tactics of the Onshi. Masha are miniature shrines in
close proximity to large shrines and are found everywhere in Japan. At Ise, they
were found in great numbers and were used to generate income for the Ise
shrines and their reconstructions. Shown above at the top left they were carneval
like districts practically on the doorstep of the most important shrine in Japan.
Renowned historian Saigyo in The five Women who loved love comments
26 Jukka Jokilehto, A history of architectural conservation (Boston: ButterworthHeinemann, 1999): 112

27 Kangetsu Shitomi , Rito Akisato , The Pictured Guide of Ise

(Kyoto and Osaka: Waseda University archives, 1797): 40

28 called whos kanjis mean: before, shrine, step, pray. long line
of masha to which you pray one by one, and to which charitable donations give
you luck

explicitly on Pilgrims travelling to Ise saying (comically) None of the group had
any real interest in the pilgrimage itself. At Ise they failed to visit the inner
shrine stopping only at the outer shrine for a few minutes and purchasing their
only souvenirs. 29 This wavering commitment to the pilgrimage to was not at all
atypical of the many people travelling to Ise. Of the historical documents
recording personal travels to Ise the personal expenses are very well
documented as well as souvenirs30, whereas piety seems to be less so
something found to be important.
For a religious pilgrim to fret over expenditures and souvenirs may seem
perverse, but it is an indirect by product of an earlier hardship suffered by the Ise
Grand shrines themselves. Ise needed money, and it got it by selling memorabilia
to pilgrims. Throughout the shrines long tradition of reconstruction, there were
but two eras of interruption. Under strangest of political circumstances, a
primarily christian warrior in the 16th century named Oda Nobunaga took control
of the government and plunged Japan into civil war. Under the rule of Oda
Nobunaga, Ise shrine had its governmental funding completely and indefinitely
suspended, ultimately disrupting its reconstruction for 100 years.31 Though this
initially caused great confusion and concerns as to the future of the shrine, it
ultimately would result in the engagement of the very intrepid Onsi. These
previously sold products and peddled luck in the miniature shrines called sesha
(shown below) but those where destroyed by the emperor Oda Nobunaga. the
Onsi had propped up a cottage industry of entertainment and souvenirs in the
shadow of Ise shrine but had had their livelihood taken away by the despot
Nobunaga.

29Ihara Saikaku , translated by Junnosuke Yoshiyuki, Fumio Tanba,

Koshoku-Gonin-Onna , (Tokyo: Kawade-shobo-shuppan, 2007, Original 1686)

30 called omiage
31 Perkins, Dorothy Encyclopedia of Japan (New York, Roundtable Press, 1991): 100

33

This was in an era where Ise pilgrimages where only a small constant trickle in
32 Kangetsu Shitomi , Rito Akisato , The Pictured Guide of Ise
(Kyoto and Osaka: Waseda University archives, 1797): 23

comparison to what they would become, and it was these Onsi that would
compel people to travel from everywhere in Japan, to spend all their money at
Ise, and to do so in great numbers. It was by the distribution of the Ise calendar
that this was achieved. Japans calendar system was made up of hundreds of
different systems, and the widespread adoption of the Ise calendar, was the first
widely used calendar system in Japan.34
With this 60 year calendar came the great pilgrimages, who were loosely spaced
60 years apart. And with these came the throngs of faithfuls in the millions, the
Onshi were then therefore the harbingers of income for the Ise Shrines.
Remarkably, the Onshi existed up until recently in small numbers, and are
depicted here below in a remarkable practice that persisted until modern times.
As private donors started to meet the demands of the Ise Grand shrines
reconstruction costs, the Onshi had no more role to play, but could still be seen
standing under the famous Uji bridge leading to the grand shrine, competing with
each other to net alms out of the air. The title photo of this paper is the single
photograph ever taken of the Onshi before their disappearance, circa 1905. It is
people that make architecture, and this is nowhere more apparent than at the
Grand Shrine of Ise.

33 Hyogo Nakagawa , Ise Calendar , ink on washi paper

(National Diet Library, Yamada, Ise, 1751)
http://www.ndl.go.jp/koyomi/rekishi/kaireki02_1_lar.html

34 Onshi-Kosho , Ajiro gondayuwatarai hironori , 19th

century, (Yamada, Ise, Suwa Shinto-shrine Yokohama)
http://www.shinmeisya.or.jp/pdf/inei_m01.pdf

35

The main shrines resident, the sun goddess amaterasu, was said to have once
hidden in a cave out of shame, casting the world into darkness. This folkloric tale
is interesting not because of the sun goddesses behaviour, but rather those of
the remaining gods who outdo each other hoping to coax Amaterasu from her
cave. The intriguing competition between the no less than eight million gods
shares a similitude of spirit with the crowds of faithfuls who have been meeting
around Ise for a millenia. Ultimately, it is fabled that curiosity as to the strange
events taking place outside her cave possessed Amaterasu to peer out into the
crowd; wherein she sees a reflection of herself. It is thus by observing the
creations and antics of those in reverence that the Ise grand shrine itself can be
understood.

35 Kangetsu Shitomi ,Rito Akisato the Pictured Guide of

Ise
Waseda University archives (Kyoto and Osaka
1797): 40
(http://www.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kotenseki/html/ru04/ru04_03526/index.html)