🏮 Jingu Shikinen Sengu

神宮式年遷宮

Ise, Mie (Ise Jingu Inner and Outer Shrines) · Held every 20 years (the 63rd starts on 2 May 2025)

Traditional performing arts

230 days to go
Rooms around Ise, Mie fill up while the festival is on.

The Jingu Shikinen Sengu is a large-scale relocation ceremony held at Ise Jingu in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, in principle every 20 years. The sanctuaries of the two main shrines, the Naiku (Kotai Jingu) and Geku (Toyouke Daijingu), along with those of 14 auxiliary shrines, are rebuilt, and a total of 65 buildings, the Uji Bridge, and 714 types and 1,576 items of sacred garments and treasures are also newly made. This system was established by Emperor Tenmu in the Asuka period, and the first ceremony was held in the 4th year of Empress Jito (690). Although there was a long interruption during the Sengoku period and several postponements, it has continued for about 1,300 years up to the 62nd ceremony in 2013. In response to the deterioration of the dug-standing pillars, and based on the idea of "tokowaka" (everlasting youth) that keeps the deity's vitality fresh, the buildings are constructed as Yayoi-style architecture exactly as before, without the slightest difference. The Sengu takes about 8 years and proceeds through about 30 rituals and events. The first, the Yamaguchi Festival, honors the deity of the sacred mountain, and after the main Uji Watari Hajime Ceremony, the final Shikinen Sengu, in which the deity's body is transferred to the new main sanctuary, is conducted. The 62nd Shikinen Sengu in 2013 cost about 55 billion yen in total, and traditional craftsmen such as shrine carpenters gathered from all over the country.

Getting there

The shrine is located in Ise City, Mie Prefecture. The nearest stations are JR and Kintetsu "Ise-shi" Station or Kintetsu "Ujiyamada" Station. From the station, take a bus and get off at "Naiku-mae" or "Geku-mae".