Izumo Taisha- Japanese LocationLocation · Landmark"Great Shrine of Izumo"

The Palace in the Clouds

When Amaterasu sent envoys to demand Okuninushi's surrender of the earthly realm, two of them defected. Ame-no-Hohi, the first messenger, arrived in Izumo and stayed for three years without sending word back. He had chosen Okuninushi's side. The heavenly gods sent more envoys, and eventually Okuninushi agreed to yield political rule to Amaterasu's line. He made one condition: build me a palace with pillars sunk in bedrock and crossbeams touching the clouds.

The Kojiki says the gods built it. Okuninushi withdrew from earthly governance and took his place in the shrine. Ame-no-Hohi, the defector, became the first priest. His descendants, the Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko, have served the shrine for over a millennium.

The Month With Gods

Throughout Japan, the tenth month of the traditional calendar is called Kannazuki: the month without gods. The kami have left. They are in Izumo. At Izumo Taisha, the same month is called Kamiarizuki: the month with gods.

The kami gather at the shrine to decide the en, the bonds of fate for the coming year. They deliberate on who will meet and who will part. Subsidiary shrines within the complex hold welcoming ceremonies as the deities arrive. Worshippers seeking help with matchmaking come to Izumo Taisha throughout the year, but during the tenth month, they come to a shrine full of gods.

Pillars in the Bedrock

In 2000, excavations beneath the shrine uncovered massive pillar bases from a previous main hall. The columns had been made from multiple tree trunks lashed together, foundations for a building that may have stood forty-eight meters tall. The Kojiki's description of a palace reaching to the heavens was not metaphor. The ancient shrine had been enormous.

The current main hall, rebuilt in 1744, follows the taisha-zukuri style: raised floor, off-center entrance, and an enormous shimenawa draped across the worship hall, a sacred rope weighing several tons. Worshippers clap four times instead of the standard two. No other major shrine uses this rhythm.