Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima Shrine is located on Itsukushima (Miyajima) Island in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture. It is said to have been founded in 593 by Saeki no Kuramoto, regional leader in the Aki Province at the time. Later, in the late Heian period, Taira no Kiyomori, powerful leader, made a large-scale renovation and donation to the shrine, and it laid the foundations for the magnificent appearance of the shrine as it is today. The most distinctive feature of Itsukushima Shrine is its main building, which is built to look like it is floating on the sea. The whole island is considered sacred, and it is thought that this was a way of ensuring that the land was not defiled. The main building was designed in the style of a Heian-period palatial architecture, with the sea being likened to a pond. The harmony between nature and architecture is a feature of the shrine. Because of its unique scenery, Itsukushima Shrine is known as one of the three most beautiful places in Japan, and it has become a famous sight-seeing area. In 1996, the area, including Itsukushima Shrine and the Misen mountain behind it, was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Furthermore, the ‘Kangen no Asobi’ (a type of court music) that Taira no Kiyomori brought from the capital is still being performed today as the Kangen Festival. The shrine also plays an important role as a place that inherits the intangible cultural heritage to the present day.