みやじま

Easily accessible from Hiroshima is the island of Miyajima, also called Itsukushima. It is considered to be one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan. It is dominated by the 530-metre-high peak of Mt Misen and the whole island appears to float in the Inland Sea.

The island has always been revered by the people who lived in the area and a Shinto goddess was enshrined there in 811. The early shrine was rebuilt in 1148 by a military leader of the Taira clan called Kyomori, who ordered it to be built on stilts so that at high tide the shrine would appear to be floating in the sea. A famous musical festival called Kangensai is held annually in midsummer on a night of the full moon. Sacred shrine music (Bugaku) is played on a shrine boat that carries the musicians from Miyajima to the mainland and back. Fishing boats from all over the Inland Sea attend the festival.

Bugs on tour:

The world-famous vermilion torii (gates), which stand in the sea outside the Miyajima Shrine, were built in 1875, the twelfth such gates to guard the shrine. At their base the two pillars measure about 3 metres in diameter, and they are approximately 16 metres high. The 22-metre cross-piece is hollow and filled with stones to make it heavier. The whole vast structure rests on the sea bed and is kept stable by its own great weight. At high tide the red torii surrounded by blue sea looks particularly spectacular.

Anyone can visit a Shinto shrine at any time. Visitors purify themselves before entering by pouring spring water over their hands with the bamboo ladles provided. They can also pull on the heavy rope outside the shrine itself to ring a bell to attract the attention of the deity. Then they clap their hands and bow their heads before asking for blessings.

In many shrines small, blank wooden plaques can be bought for a small sum. People write their concerns on the plaques and ask the deity to intervene in their lives. Some ask to pass an important examination, others ask for family members to be relieved of illness.