Ise Jingū.

Jingū (神宮), commonly called Ise Jingū, is not a single shrine but a sacred complex centered on the paired sanctuaries of Naikū, formally Kōtai Jingū, and Gekū, formally Toyouke Daijingū. The site is defined by unpainted hinoki cypress buildings, steep thatched roofs, white gravel precincts, and successive layers of wooden fencing that conceal the innermost sanctuaries from public view. This restraint is one of its most distinctive visual traits, because the holiest structures are sensed more than seen.

The broader complex extends across shrine forests, subsidiary sanctuaries, ritual spaces, and approach routes. At Naikū, the Uji Bridge marks the crossing from ordinary space into sacred ground, while the Isuzu River, old-growth trees, and carefully maintained paths shape the approach. The architecture is renewed in the same traditional form at each Shikinen Sengū, so Ise appears at once ancient and continually new.

Ise Jingū functions as a living center of worship rather than a monument visited only for history. Pilgrims traditionally visit Gekū first and then proceed to Naikū, following a ritual logic in which Toyouke-no-Ōmikami, provider of sacred food and daily necessities, is approached before Amaterasu-Ōmikami. Daily offerings, seasonal observances, and major festivals keep the complex tied to agricultural time, imperial ritual, and ideas of purification.

Among the annual observances, Kanname-sai is especially important, offering the first fruits of the rice harvest to Amaterasu. The shrine's official administration also describes its rites as imperial observances conducted for the prosperity of the imperial house, peace in the world, and abundant harvests. Visitors encounter a carefully controlled sacred environment, with prayer possible at designated points, but the innermost sanctuary remains inaccessible, preserving the sense of distance proper to a site of active worship.