Itsukushima Shrine Audio Guide

Itsukushima Shrine: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Itsukushima Shrine

   Welcome to Itsukushima Shrine, known in Japanese as Itsukushima-jinja, one of the most photographed Shinto shrines in the world. It stands on the island of Itsukushima, which almost everyone calls Miyajima, in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. The usual way here is by ferry from Miyajimaguchi Station on the mainland, so your visit begins with a short crossing, and that crossing sets the tone. The shrine is famous for its floating torii, the great gate standing offshore. Behind it, vermilion buildings seem to hover on the water when the tide comes in. The shrine and its surrounding landscape are registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many of the buildings are designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties. Over the next few minutes we will look at why this shrine was built on the sea, how its buildings are arranged, and who shaped it in the twelfth century. Keep an eye on the water as we go. Here, the tide is part of the architecture.

2. 02

   An Island Worshipped as a God

   Why would anyone build a shrine out over the sea? The answer is that the whole island is treated as the deity. Instead of building on the island, the shrine reaches out toward it from the shore, and its halls extend over the tidal flats, linked by long corridors. That explains why the shrine looks as it does. It is a place of worship set at the edge of something sacred, not a building placed on land. This idea is very old in Japan. In Shinto architecture, a mountain or other natural object becomes the focus of religious belief, and the shrine is generally built at its foot. Here the sacred presence is the island itself, with Mount Misen rising dark green behind the shrine. The shrine is said to have a history of about 1400 years, and it is the head shrine of some 500 Itsukushima shrines across Japan. It is also the Ichinomiya of the old province of Aki, meaning the chief shrine of that region. Stand and look at the way the sea, the buildings and the mountain line up, because that arrangement is the whole point.

3. 03

   Vermilion Halls Built Over the Tide

   Now look at the architecture itself. The complex follows the shinden-zukuri style, the manner of Heian-period aristocratic residences. In that tradition a main building, the shinden, faces a garden to the south. At Itsukushima Shrine the garden has been replaced by the sea, which is a remarkable way to adapt a noble house. The buildings stand on high wooden stilts and are joined by long corridors. Pavilions and a noh stage sit among them, and every structural member is painted vermilion. The shrine has the standard parts of a Shinto complex, but they are unusual in scale. There is a honden, the main hall, a haiden, the main oratory, and a heiden, the offertory hall. The haiden and heiden are unusually long. The honden is an eight-by-four bay structure with a roof of cypress bark in the kirizuma style. The design also reflects a long habit of Japanese building. Heian-period structures tended to follow their surroundings, letting trees, water and natural beauty become part of the design. At high tide the halls appear to float, and at low tide the stilts and the shore are exposed. Both views are worth seeing.

4. 04

   Kiyomori, the Taira and a Capital's Culture

   Behind the beauty is a story of power. In the twelfth century, nobles often built shrines and other grand projects to show their power and splendor. The Taira clan, led by Taira no Kiyomori, were known for their involvement in maritime trade with Song dynasty China and for trying to monopolize overseas trade along the Inland Sea. A shrine on this water, looking out over the sea lanes, fits that world very well. The shrine's buildings took on the elegant Heian style of aristocratic residences, and they still convey that form today. The shrine also became a symbol of Kiyomori's authority. Members of the Imperial family, including Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa and Retired Emperor Takakura, made pilgrimages here. Those visits helped spread the culture of the capital to this island setting. The story did not stop with the Taira. Elsewhere in the shrine area, the five-storied pagoda beside Senjokaku, which stands about 30 meters tall, dates from 1407 and blends Zen and Japanese styles. Araebisu Shrine, an Important Cultural Property, dates from 1441. The island's story continued for centuries.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   UNESCO recognizes this place for the way it brings three things together: the man-made architecture in the center, the sea in the foreground and the mountains behind. That trinity has come to be regarded as a Japanese standard of beauty, and it is also one reason Miyajima is counted among the Three Views of Japan. Every time you look at the shrine, you are looking at that idea in practice. Before you leave, try seeing it from several angles. Look at the halls against the dark green of Mount Misen. Notice how the vermilion corridors change when the water rises or falls. Then compare the offshore torii with the shrine's long halls. Each view tells you something different about how people chose to meet the sacred here. There is plenty more to discover on the island, from the pagoda beside Senjokaku to the small Araebisu Shrine. Let your curiosity decide which path you take next.