Naikū

　The highlight of a pilgrimage to Ise is a visit to the Naikū. It is said that Amaterasu Ōmikami, the ancestral deity of the Imperial Family, took up residence at the Naikū some 2,000 years ago, and the Yata no Kagami, a sacred bronze mirror, one of the treasures of the Japanese Imperial Family, is enshrined there as the divine object.

　The approach to the Naikū is lined with enormous cedar trees, which are said to be several hundred years old. Although it has long been cherished as a spiritual power spot in Ise, it is also a site visited by nearly 8 million worshippers annually; as the bark was being damaged by people touching the trees, the bases are now covered with bamboo.

　The towering cedar trees, the clear waters of the Isuzu River, and the rolling hills shrouded in mist on rainy days… one must never forget that this is the realm of the gods.