The Sacred Trees and Ancient Art of Ibusuki Jinja Shrine 指宿神社のご神木と古代アート

Official explanation

Ibusuki Jinja is one of the oldest shrines in Ibusuki. The shrine was originally founded in 706, on the orders of Emperor Tenji (626–671). It is known for the grove of sacred trees that encircles the shrine grounds and for its collection of historic artworks, including fourteenth-century Noh masks. The current main hall and many of the surrounding structures date from 1847, when the lord of the powerful Shimazu family paid for a major reconstruction.

A footpath leads around the shrine’s central worship hall and up a small stone staircase. Beyond it is the shrine’s sacred grove, which is thought to be about 700 years old. Eight camphor trees, some more than 20 meters tall, tower among hackberry and ginkgo, and the twisting aerial roots of Japanese sea figs have wound themselves around their branches. Such dense, almost primordial growth is rare in Kagoshima, and the prefecture has declared the grove a Natural Monument.

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Ibusuki Jinja is the starting point for a spring ritual that has taken place in Ibusuki since 1545. During the Hamakudari, or “Procession to the Sea,” local residents walk nearly 4 kilometers from the shrine to one of two local ports, carrying a 4-meter-tall float of the deity Sarutahiko.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.