World Heritage Spotlight: The Itsukushima Shrine
December 18, 2009
written by Matt Mikkelsen
The Itsukushima Shrine, located in the Hiroshima Prefecture, on the island of Miyajima in the city of Hatsukaichi. The shrine is categorized as a group of buildings, consisting of the initial main buildings with a single design concept (Honsha) and the others that have been added over time. The shrine is dominated in the foreground by the sea and the legendary Torii Gate, and a beautiful mountain view in the background. This site has been designated by the Japanese Government as a national treasure, and many look to its intermingling of natural beauty and manmade accomplishments as proof of the great achievements in Japanese history.
The shrine was first built in the 6th century by Taira No Kiyomori, a warlord of a powerful family. The shrine’s construction was influenced by the Shindenzukuri style of architecture prevalent during that time. Since then, it has remained a sacred monument cherished for both its’ religious and cultural distinctiveness. The ocean gods Ichikishima, Tagori, and Tagitsu, the daughters of Susano-o no Mikoto reside in the center of the shrine and protect mariners and their ships. The island on which it is situated has been a holy place of Shintoism since early Japanese history. Commoners were unable to set foot on the island which is why the shrine is built on pier-like structures over the bay. To visit the shrine, they had to approach from the water and enter through the legendary Torii Gate before disembarking. To this day, both the shrine and the Torii Gate hold noble status as an epicenter for Shintoism and the Japanese concept of scenic beauty.
In 1995, Japan submitted the Itsukushima Shrine and Torii Gate to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for inscription onto the World Heritage List using criteria 1, 2, 4, and 6. The submission details the religious importance, cultural heritage, and academic value of the shrine. In 1996, the Committee ruled to inscribe the monument onto the List on the grounds that it “as the supreme example of this form of religious centre, setting traditional architecture of great artistic and technical merit against a dramatic natural background and thereby creating a work of art of incomparable physical beauty.” Today, the shrine holds one of the legendary Three Views of Japan titles and continues to be a popular tourist attraction. Visitors can even walk out to the impressive Torii Gate and follow in the footsteps of the Japanese fore-fathers centuries before.
- Matt Mikkelsen is a student at Georgia Perimeter College; he worked as an intern at the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta in Autumn of 2009.
Sources:
United Nations. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Itsukushima Shinto Shrine Advisory Body Evaluation. Web. 15 October 2009.
United Nations. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Itsukushima Shinto Shrine Decision. Web. 15 October 2009.