Naikū (Inner Ise Shrine)

Discover

About Naikū (Inner Ise Shrine)

Naiku, officially called Kotai Jingu, is the Inner Sanctuary of Ise and the most sacred site in Shinto. It is dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami, the sun goddess traditionally regarded as an ancestor of the imperial family, and is said to house the sacred mirror that forms part of the imperial regalia. No one except priests and the imperial family enters the main precinct.

The visit begins at the Uji Bridge, a cypress wood bridge about 100 meters long spanning the Isuzu River, with torii gates at both ends. Beyond it, a gravel path crosses gardens and a forest of huge cedars. On the riverbank, visitors descend stone steps to wash their hands in the water as a purification ritual. The path passes ceremony halls, stables for the sacred horse and smaller shrines.

The main shrine sits atop a stone staircase, behind four wooden fences. From outside you can only see the gate and part of the thatched roof with crossed rafters, in Ise’s characteristic shinmei-zukuri architectural style, without paint or ornamentation. Beside it, the empty lot covered with white stones awaits the next reconstruction: every 20 years the buildings are rebuilt from scratch there in the Shikinen Sengu rite.

Facing the Uji Bridge, Oharai-machi street, about 800 meters long, has wooden houses with shops and restaurants, and the Okage Yokocho recreates the atmosphere of the pilgrim town from the Edo period.