3. Identification a) History

<ORIGIN OF ITSUKUSHIMA-JINJA> Itsukushima Island is among the many islands in the western part of the Setonaikai (Seto Inland Sea), lying between Honshu Island and Shikoku Island. Because it has the region's highest mountain (Mt. Misen, 530 meters), Itsukushima Island has been worshipped by people living in the region as an object of religious faith since ancient times. It takes no flight of imagination to see how people began to worship Itsukushima Island as a sacred place; at first, it is said, the awe people felt was so great that they dared not tread onto the island, worshipping the sacred island at a distance. On the other hand, their faith in the island drove them to construct shrine buildings more than once along the waterside of the island. It is hypothesized that the shrine was founded in 593, but its existence before 811 is not confirmed. The "Nihon Koki" states that " Itsukushima no kami (the god of Itsukushima) " took his place among the celebrated gods, and that the Imperial Household began to present Hei (sacred staffs with cut paper attached to the top) to the shrine. Since then, it came to be known as a famous shrine in the country of Aki during the Heian Period (794-1184). <CONSTRUCTION OF SHRINE BUILDINGS BY TAIRA NO KIYOMORI> When the construction of the shrine buildings started on Itsukushima Island is not yet known. However, it is recorded that Saeki Kagehiro, a Shinto priest, reported to the Imperial Court that he reconstructed the main shrine buildings in 1168. In that report, Kagehiro stated that the scale of the buildings was increased during the process of reconstruction and that the roofing of some of the buildings was changed from shingles to Japanese cypress bark. This work of reconstruction, believed to have been performed under the financial support of the most powerful leader of the time, Taira no Kiyomori, set the standards for later reconstruction of the shrine both in scale and in composition. Kiyomori believed that he owed his meritorious war services in the two civil wars of Hogen and Heiji and the subsequent promotion of his status in the central political world to his religious faith in Itsukushima-jinja, and the belief that the god of Itsukushima was a guardian deity of the Heike family deepened his veneration to the shrine. Throughout his life, on every important political occasion, he visited the shrine to make worship. The reconstructed main shrine buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1207 in the Kamakura Period (1185-1332) and reconstructed eight years later in 1215, only to be destroyed again by a 1223 fire. The subsequent reconstruction was rather delayed and was not finally completed until 1241. The major shrine buildings which remain now were reconstructed at that time. <SUBSEQUENT RECONSTRUCTION WORK> The result of the reconstruction work carried out in the Heian and Kamakura Periods was successful. By this time, the buildings of the shrine had become too large and grand to repair or reconstruct all at once as before. Therefore, after the Kamakura Period the buildings were maintained only through partial treatment and reconstruction of a limited number of buildings at a time. In the Kamakura Period (1185-1332) the shrine was under the patronage of the feudal government, but in the Muromachi Period (1333-1572) national aid was cut off. Since Itsukushima-jinja was constructed on the sea, it had suffered repeated damage due to wind and flooding, but each time it had been restored as it attracted the veneration of the leaders and local influential persons of the respective ages. Moreover, new buildings were constructed in addition to the main compound of shrine buildings, to form the current overall shrine composition. In 1407 the Gojunoto(five-story pagoda) was constructed, and in 1523, the Tahoto(two-story pagoda) was constructed. In 1556, the Sessha Tenjin-sha Honden was constructed. In the Momoyama Period (1573-1599) the Massha Hokoku-jinja Honden (Senjokaku) was newly constructed in 1587. As for the reconstruction of the shrine buildings, the Massha Araebisu-jinja Honden was reconstructed in 1441, and the Sessha Omoto-jinja Honden in 1523. The Honsha Honden was reconstructed in 1571 for the reason that the building was stained during an incident involving bloodshed in 1569. Furthermore, the Sessha Maroto-jinja Honden was repaired in 1362 and again from 1430 to 1433. The Otorii (large shrine gate) is recorded to have collapsed often, and was improved by the addition of outrigger posts in the form that we see now when it was reconstructed in 1547. It underwent frequent reconstruction, the last of which followed destruction by high winds in 1850. The Otorii that stands today is from the 1875 reconstruction. <RISING PUBLIC AWARENESS> Itsukushima Island which has an important location for commerce and traffic in the Setonaikai (Seto Inland Sea). Already by the late Muromachi Period (1233-1573), a market had been opened on the island, and an urban area had subsequently developed. Although Itsukushima-jinja was venerated by the leaders of the period, a temple near the top of Mt. Misen -- said to have been established by a Buddhist priest, Kukai -- attracted the faith of the public and drew many visitors to Itsukushima Island. Together with these visitors, leading actors of the time came and gave performances on the island, bringing the refined culture of Kyoto and Edo with them. In this way, Itsukushima Island appears to have outgrown the forbidding aspect of a sacred island reserved exclusively as an object of worship, as it had been since ancient times; it gradually became an open island, a religious precinct which the general public also visited. As more and more people made their pilgrimage to the island, its reputation as a place of beauty -- with the integrated landscape of the shrine buildings on the sea seen against the background of the surrounding natural environment -- became better and better known abroad until, by the middle of the Edo Period (1600-1866), Itsukushima Island was praised as one of the Three Most Scenic Places in Japan. <PROTECTION MEASURES IN MODERN TIMES> Itsukushima-jinja, like many other Shinto shrines of the same period, was so influenced by Buddhist aesthetics that a number of Buddhist-style buildings were constructed in the shrine precincts. But in modern times, in 1868, the "Shintoism and Buddhism Separation Decree" was issued, and shrines throughout Japan were ordered to get rid of Buddhist influences. In Itsukushima-jinja, therefore, many of the Buddhist buildings were destroyed, and shrine buildings that had been vermilioned after Buddhist tastes were surface-treated to expose the natural wood finish beneath the lacquer. However, the Gojunoto Tahoto and Massha Hokoku-jinja Honden (the Senjokaku, originally erected as a Buddhist-style building) remained, retaining the general character of the shrine surroundings. Thereafter, the idea of protecting cultural properties gained in importance and, in 1897, the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law was enacted. In this connection, major buildings of Itsukushima-jinja were designated one after another as Specially Protected Buildings during the period from 1899 to 1910, and the first major restoration work was carried out during the period from 1901 to 1919, subsidized by the national government. Furthermore, in 1949, the Sessha Omoto-jinja Honden and the Hozo were designated as National Treasures under the National Treasures Preservation Law. Earlier, in 1873, immediately after the Meiji Restoration, the surrounding area including the Mt. Misen area behind Itsukushima-jinja was opened as one of the first "parks" in Japan based on an ordinance issued by the national government. These "parks" were selected from among traditional scenic spots or noted places where people had been gathering for recreational purposes. They were mainly in areas of high population density such as the Three Major Cities and other similar districts throughout Japan. In the process of park selection, the scenery unique to Itsukushima-jinja, known as one of the Three Most Scenic Places in Japan, was highly evaluated. The park area designated at that time has been taken over as the present City Park and a part of National Park. Moreover, in 1923, the entire island of Itsukushima, together with a portion of the sea in front of the shrine, was designated as a Historic Site, and a Places of Scenic Beauty for the purpose of preserving the historic scenic environment under the Law for Preserving Historic Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments. In 1950, the entire island was also designated as part of the Setonaikai National Park. As for laws protecting cultural properties, the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law enacted in 1897 was revised in 1929 as the Law for the Preservation of National Treasures, and in 1950, it was revised again and integrated with related laws and ordinances to be established as the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. As a law for protecting natural scenic areas, the National Parks Law enacted in 1931 was revised in 1957 under the title Natural Parks Law. Currently, as described in the "Legal protection status" section the major buildings of Itsukushima-jinja are designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, and Itsukushima Island and the sea area in front of the shrine are designated as a Special Historic Site and a Special Place of Scenic Beauty under this law and as a National Park under the Natural Parks Law. Furthermore, the primeval forest near the top of Mt. Misen is designated as a Natural Monument under the Law for the protection of Cultural Properties and as a National Park Special Protection Area under the Natural Parks Law. Actions for protecting these properties are carried out by the national government. Appendix 4 : Chronological table of Itsukushima