User:Immanuelle/sandbox/The Long Journey to Ise

Miwa Torii demonstrating both their threefold nature and the closed gate

Moto-Ise Shrines are Shinto shrines that used to host Amaterasu before she was moved to Ise Jingu. The first one was Hibara Shrine (a subshrine of Ōmiwa Shrine). Amaterasu was originally enshrined there before eventually moving to other Moto-Ise shrines and then finally to Ise Jingu. The journey was long so many shrines claim this title. These shrines are subject to a large amount of historical research.

Summary

The deity enshrined at the Inner Shrine (内宮) of Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮), Amaterasu Omikami (天照大御神), is considered the ancestral deity (皇祖神) of the emperors. Up until the era of the 10th Emperor, Emperor Sujin (崇神天皇), it is said that the emperor and Amaterasu Omikami shared the same residence, known as "sharing the same bed and palace" (同床共殿). Initially, she was enshrined within the Imperial Palace (皇居), but fearing this arrangement, the emperor entrusted her divine spirit to Princess Template:Ill (豊鋤入姫命), who established a sacred fence known as the "Iseki-no-himorogi" (磯城の神籬) in Iseshiro, Kasafu village (笠縫邑), Yamato province (倭国). This began a search for an ideal location for her permanent enshrinement, which led to several relocations. Eventually, the 11th Emperor, Emperor Suijin's (垂仁天皇) fourth princess, Princess Template:Ill (倭姫命), took over this mission, and after approximately 90 years, the shrine was moved to its current location. The "Iseki-no-himorogi" is first mentioned during the relocation of Amaterasu Omikami to Yamato Kasafu village in the Chronicles of Emperor Suinin, where it is imagined as a facility for the placement of a Template:Ill, symbolizing a sacred area akin to a rock seat, with a vast horizontal landscape preserving the tradition of the Iseshiro form. At Ise Jingu, the Shin-no-mihashira (心御柱), a central sacred pillar, is largely buried in the ground with its surroundings wrapped in sakaki (榊), and ritual pottery symbolizes the rituals. It is said that when the divine mirror of Amaterasu Omikami was first dedicated, a five-hundred-year-old tree from Template:Ill was dug up, with jewels hung on its upper branches and a mirror on its middle branches, but the sakaki-decorated Shin-no-mihashira symbolizes the appearance of this sacred tree during rituals. The relocation process is not mentioned in the "Kojiki," but is briefly noted in the "Nihon Shoki," more detailed in the "Template:Ill," and most elaborately in the "Template:Ill," a medieval text from the "Template:Ill (神道五部書)."

The deity of the Outer Shrine (外宮), Toyouke-no-Ōmikami (豊受大御神), although not mentioned in the "Kojiki" or "Nihon Shoki," is said in the "Template:Ill" and "Template:Ill" to have been relocated from Tango Province (丹後国) (now part of Tanba Province (丹波国)) to her current site by divine command of Amaterasu Omikami during the era of the 21st Emperor, Emperor Yūryaku (雄略天皇).

The tale of Amaterasu Omikami's wanderings is considered similar to the ancestral deity stories in the "Template:Ill" about Template:Ill (筑波山) and the folk tales about Template:Ill (弘法大師). Since many shrine origin stories involve deities traveling to find their enshrinement locations, this is considered a typical motif of a "traveling deity."

The origin tradition of the "Former Ise" is derived from texts like the "Template:Ill, Template:Ill, Template:Ill, and Engishiki." Although it was previously said to involve around twenty locations, it now includes over sixty. These traditions are based on those transmitted to various shrines, and there are cases where nearby locations claim to be the traditional site, leaving the truth of these claims unclear.

Oomoto

A Moto-Ise Shrine "North of Ayabe", Amanoiwato Shrine was used in a symbolic act by the religious group Oomoto to emphasize their spiritual authority and connection to Japan's ancient religious traditions. Specifically, members of Oomoto collected sacred elements—fire, water, and earth—from Izumo-taisha during a pilgrimage. They then combined these elements with water from Moto-Ise, a site revered as the original location of the Ise Shrine and associated with the goddess Amaterasu. By mixing these sacred substances, Oomoto was asserting a deep and direct link to the ancient and most sacred sites of Shinto, effectively positioning themselves as a leading advocate for Japan's traditional spiritual practices. Their headquarters are near this "Moto-Ise".

However this is not considered a Moto-Ise Shrine

Toyosukiiri-hime's journey

We are using the list from the Yamatohime Chronicles (倭姫命世記). We will focus on the most notable candidates for locations from these texts. For most of these candidates

Yamato Province Kasanuhi Shrine - Hibara Shrine - 33 years

Hibara Shrine is a subshrine of Omiwa Shrine at the foot of Mount Miwa in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. The shrine is identified as the place where the Yata-no-Kagami and the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi were first enshrined after they were removed from the imperial palace. It is the first of many Moto-Ise Shrines shrines. Amaterasu was originally enshrined there before eventually moving to other Moto-Ise shrines and then finally to Ise Jingu. It has an Iwakura rock and a Shinza made of Sakaki wood.

It has a prominent unique closable triple torii gate.

Toyosukiiri-hime spent 33 years here

Settsu Province Taishinkansha Shrine (太神官社) - Kishibe-jinja

吉志部神社

Moto-Geku

1. Hinumanai-jinja
2. There is also a Kono Shrine tradition
3. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E7%A5%9E%E6%9C%A8%E7%A5%9E%E7%A4%BE
4. Toyouke Shrine (Geku)