is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of

Hiroshima Bay is a bay in the Inland Sea, Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Hiroshima Wan" in . Administratively, the bay is divided between Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefectures. The bay's shore is a Ria. Its surface area is about 1,000 km², ...

. It is popularly known as , which in Japanese means "Shrine Island". The island is one of

Hayashi Gahō , also known as Hayashi Shunsai, 林春斎, , was a Japanese Neo-Confucian philosopher and writer in the system of higher education maintained by the Tokugawa ''bakufu'' during the Edo period. He was a member of the Hayashi clan of Confucian ...

Three Views of Japan The is the canonical list of Japan's three most celebrated scenic sights, attributed to 1643 and scholar Hayashi Gahō. In 1915, modeled on the old Three Views of Japan, Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha (株式会社実業之日本社) held a national elec ...

specified in 1643. Itsukushima is part of the city of

Hatsukaichi is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a market traditionally held on the 20th of each month with ''hatsuka'' (廿日) meaning "20th day" and ''ichi'' (市) translating to "market". The market continues to this da ...

in Hiroshima Prefecture. The island was part of the former town of

Miyajima may refer to: Places * Miyajima, another name for the Japanese island Itsukushima * Miyajima, Hiroshima, a former town on this island, merged into Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a ...

before the 2005 merger with Hatsukaichi. Itsukushima is famous for the Itsukushima Shrine, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

.Itsukushima Shinto Shrine
UNESCO According to records, the shrine was established in the time of

Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japa ...

. The warrior-courtier

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...

gave the shrine its present form. In 1555, Mōri Motonari defeated Sue Harukata at the

Battle of Miyajima The 1555 was the only battle to be fought on the sacred island of Miyajima; the entire island is considered to be a Shinto shrine, and no birth or death is allowed on the island. Extensive purification rituals took place after the battle, to clea ...

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

built a large building, the Senjō-kaku, on a hill above the shrine. Itsukushima has a number of temples, including Toyokuni Shrine with a five-storied pagoda, and Daiganji Temple - one of the three most famous Benzaiten temples of Japan.Daiganji Kikyozan Hokoin (Buddhist temple)
/ref> The island is also famous for its upper hill side cherry blossoms and maple leaf autumn foliage. The island of Itsukushima, including the waters around it (part of Seto Inland Sea), lies within

Setonaikai National Park is a Japanese national park, comprising areas of Japan's Seto Inland Sea, and of ten bordering prefectures. Designated a national park in 1934, it has since been expanded several times. It contains about 3,000 islands, known as the Setouchi ...

. This sea is affected by strong tides. At low tide, the bottom of the sea is exposed past the island's

torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simple ...

. At high tide, the sea covers all the previously exposed seabed mud and fills areas underneath the shrine boardwalk.

Location and geography

Itsukushima is mountainous and sparsely settled. It has an elementary school and a middle school. There are no traffic signals. It is rural and mountainous, only , and has a population of about 2000. There are no cities, only small towns with simple houses and privately owned shops. The islanders work hard to preserve the forests and respect

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

. Frequent ferry services, operated by

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, an ...

(

JR Miyajima ferry is the ferry route between Miyajimaguchi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima and Miyajima (Itsukushima). JR Miyajima Ferries are operated by , a wholly owned subsidiary of West Japan Railway Company (JR West). There are three ferries called the ''Miyaji ...

) and by Miyajima Matsudai Tourist Ship, carry traffic between the island and the mainland at Miyajimaguchi. The trip takes about ten minutes. There is an hourly express passenger ferry to Hiroshima harbour. Miyajima's maple trees are renowned throughout Japan and blanket the island in crimson in the autumn. Momiji

manjū is a traditional Japanese confection. Of the many varieties of manjū, most have an outside made from flour, rice powder, kudzu, and buckwheat, and a filling of ''anko'' (red bean paste), usually made from boiled adzuki beans and sugar. ''Man ...

, pastries filled with

azuki ''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East As ...

jam or custard, are popular souvenirs and carry maple-leaf emblems. Many other varieties such as chocolate and cheese are available. Because the island is seen as sacred, trees may not be cut for lumber.

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

roam freely. Deer are thought of as sacred in the native Shinto religion because they are considered messengers of the gods. They walk the streets of the city, not afraid of the tourists. Autumn colours on Miyajima Island Japan

The

shamoji A or rice paddle is a large flat spoon used in East Asian cuisine. It is used to stir and to serve rice, and to mix vinegar into the rice for sushi. ''Shamoji'' are traditionally made from bamboo, wood, or lacquer, and nowadays often fro ...

, a style of wooden paddle used to serve cooked rice without impairing the taste, is said to have been invented by a monk who lived on the island. The shamoji is a popular souvenir, and there are some outsized examples around the shopping district. The peak of

Mount Misen is the sacred mountain on Itsukushima in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan, and is the highest mountain on the island at 535 m; it is situated within the World Heritage area of Itsukushima Shrine. The sea around the island ( Seto Inland Sea) and ...

, at 535 m, is the highest point on the island. Miyajima Ropeway carries visitors to within a 30-minute hike to the top. There are several sites related to the historic Buddhist priest and founder of

Shingon Buddhism Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

, (774–835), including

Daishō-in is a historic Japanese temple complex with many temples and statues on Mount Misen, the holy mountain on the island of Itsukushima, off the coast of Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, Japan. It is the 14th temple in the Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage ...

, near the top. The island contains the on its north coast. People often take the short ferry ride from mainland Japan to pray at Miyajima’s shrines and to marvel at the beauty of its forests. Shrines on the island include Senjokaku (Toyokuni Shrine), Five-storied Pagoda, Two-storied Pagoda, Kiyomori Shrine, and Omoto Shrine.

Shrines and temples

Note that in Japan, the term "shrine" implies a Shinto religious structure and "temple" implies a Buddhist one.

Itsukushima Shrine

Miyajima is famous for the Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, ''Itsukushima-jinja'') which is a

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

. It is known for its "floating"

gate. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005)
"''Itsukushima-jinja''"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 407. The historic shrine complex is listed as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, as well as one of the National Treasures by the Japanese government.

Daiganji Temple

Next to the Itsukushima Shrine is Daiganji Temple, dedicated to Goddess Benzaiten as well as three Buddhas important to Shingon Buddhism. Benzaiten Goddess in Japan has been traced to Goddess

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

of Hinduism in India. She is the Goddess of eloquence, music, arts, wealth and knowledge. The three Buddha in the temple are Gautama Buddha, Wisdom Buddha and Mercy Buddha. Daiganji Temple is one of the three most famous Benzaiten Temples in Japan, along with Enoshima Benzaiten (

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

) and Chikubujima Benzaiten (

Shiga is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

). The Benzaiten is opened to the public only once every year on June 17. On this day, Miyajima holds a big festival, and people of the region visit the temple to offer their prayers. The precise date for the first construction of Daiganji Benzaiten temple is unclear. It was reconstructed around 1200 AD in the Kamakura period. The construction date of Itsukushima-jinja and Daiganji temple is estimated to be 6th century or later, and the existence of Itsukushima-jinja is confirmed by early 9th century by ancient Japanese texts. The ''Nihon Shoki'' confirms the sacredness of these Miyajama structures during the Heian Period (794-1184).

Daishō-in Temple

is a historic Japanese temple on

, the holy mountain on the island. It is the 14th temple in the

Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage The is one of a number of traditional Buddhist pilgrimage routes in Japan. The route includes 33 sites sacred to the boddhisattva Kannon, across the Chūgoku region ( Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane and Tottori prefectures). The 33 Kanno ...

and famous for the maple trees and their

autumn colors Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( ...

. It is also called "Suishō-ji". As the headquarters of the Omuro branch of

Shingon Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...

Buddhism, it is the most important temple of Miyajima. The temple was the administrator of the Itsukushima shrine before

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

forbade ( Shinbutsu bunri) syncretism ( Shinbutsu-shūgō) between

and Buddhism in 1868.

Senjokaku (Toyokuni Shrine)

Senjokaku (lit. "pavilion of 1000 mats") is the largest structure at Miyajima Island as the name implies.

started construction of Senjokaku as a Buddhist library in which the chanting of Senbu-kyo sutras could be held for fallen soldiers.Quiet charms of Miyajima island, Neena Mittal, The Straits Times, FEB 14, 2016
/ref> Hideyoshi died in 1598 and the building was never fully completed. Originally, Amitabha Buddha and two Buddhist saints,

Ānanda Ānanda (5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of the early Buddhist '' Sutta-Piṭ ...

and

Mahākāśyapa Mahākāśyapa ( pi, Mahākassapa) was one of the principal disciples of Gautama Buddha. He is regarded in Buddhism as an enlightened disciple, being foremost in ascetic practice. Mahākāśyapa assumed leadership of the monastic community fol ...

, were enshrined in the structure until the Meiji reformation. when the structure was converted into a Shinto shrine dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Numerous votive picture tablets that had been hanging in the Itsukushima Shrine buildings until the Meiji era, have been hung on the walls inside the hall.

Five-storied Pagoda (Gojunoto)

The nearby Five-storied Pagoda constructed in 1407 (thus predating Senjokaku) enshrined Yakushi Nyorai Zazo, the Buddha of Medicine said to have been made by Kobo Daishi himself, accompanied by Fugen Bosatsu (Mercy Buddha) and Monju Bosatsu (Wisdom Buddha). The three images were moved to the Daiganji Temple during the Meiji reformation.

Gallery

File:Miyajima Japan 1913.jpg, Miyajima in 1913 File:MiyajimaKatsuyamajoMarker7451.jpg, Katsuyama Castle once stood on this site File:Goju-no-to Pagoda, Miyajima.jpg, Goju-no-to Pagoda from Senjō-kaku Temple File:Deer near the Tori gate.jpg, Deer near the torii gate File:A cherry blossom bloom near five-stories pagoda On Miyajima Island Japan.jpg, Cherry blossoms near Senjokaku Temple File:Itsukushima shrine 01.jpg, Itsukushima shrine taken from water with gate (tori) in foreground File:Sanki-gongen-dō.jpg, Sanki-gongen-dō temple near the summit of Mount Misen File:The Famous Scenes of the Sixty States 50 Aki.jpg,

Hiroshige Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...

File:Brooklyn Museum - Itsukushima in Aki Province - Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando).jpg, Hiroshige File:Miyajima in de provincie Aki-Rijksmuseum RP-P-2008-214.jpeg, Kunisada File:Hiroshige II Aki Miyajima.jpg,

Hiroshige II was a Japanese designer of ukiyo-e art. He inherited the name Hiroshige II following the death in 1858 of his master Hiroshige, whose daughter he married. In 1865 he moved from Edo to Yokohama after dissolving his marriage and began using ...

File:Lotus Daishoin Miyajima.jpg, Miniature Lotus flowers at Daisho-in Miyajima

References

External links

Guide
Miyajima town guide

Firewalking festival Miyajima
{{Authority control Tourist attractions in Hiroshima Prefecture Special Places of Scenic Beauty Islands of Hiroshima Prefecture Special Historic Sites Islands of the Seto Inland Sea Geiyo Islands Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima