Itsukushima Shrine

There are places where people’s creativity and nature are perfectly combined. In those places harmony and beauty dominate. One of such places is the Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima.

The temple complex Itsukushima-jinja is located on the island of Miyajima in the Japanese Inland Sea. Incredibly beautiful red and white buildings seem to fit into the sea surface. They stand on high stilts and are connected to each other by exquisite bridges. Colors contrast does not look unpleasantly, but, on the contrary, colors complete each other and create an atmosphere of calmness and quiet joy.

The main attraction of that sanctuary is the legendary ritual torii gate. Their specific feature is that they are placed not at the central entrance of the complex, which is common, but right in the bay, in water. The height of the gates reaches 16 meters. Thus, they seem giant.

The first small ritual buildings in this place appeared in the 6th century. Unfortunately, they were repeatedly destroyed due to natural disasters and attacks of hostile people. Nevertheless, monks carefully restored their small temples after every invasion.

Temples and meetinghouses of the Itsukushima complex got their appearance in the 16th century. At that time, architects and builders used an image of an ancient temple, which was built on this territory in 1168, as a basis for their project. According to old writings, there had already been ritual gates at that time. However, it still has not been determined whether the present gates are the old or the new ones.

Today, that temple complex is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are more than 4000 old unique items stored in the temple treasury room. Among them are ancient writings, armor and weapon, fabulous porcelain and jewelry which were brought to the shrine by rich people at different times. Some relics were recognized as national treasures. The torii gate of Itsukushima is one of the most famous and recognizable sceneries of Japan.