NHK World Heritage 100 Series

Narration Text

Miyajima is an island 31 kilometers in circumference in Hiroshima Bay in the Seto Inland Sea. It has been an object of veneration since ancient times. The Itsukushima shrine was built here about 800 years ago. General Taira no Kiyomori erected and dedicated the shrine to the glory of the Taira clan in 1168, towards the end of the Heian Era.

With beautiful green vegetation as a backdrop, the red painted shrine juts outwards creating a remarkable landscape - a shrine floating on the sea. The buildings are connected by a series of long roofed corridors. The pillars supporting the building are prone to water erosion. The entire complex emerges when the tide is out. Approximately 160 meters from the Honden, or main sanctuary, is the Otorii. 16-meter high pillars constructed from Japanese Camphor tree trunks make up the entrance. Reverence at the Itsukushima Shrine by the Taira clan is said to have begun when Taira no Kiyomori was appointed the Governor of Aki. At the height of Taira glory, Kiyomori spent lavishly on compiling and dedicating scriptures to the Shrine. There are 32 volumes of scriptures of the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra hand copied by members of the Taira clan. Together with his own writings of his wishes, Taira no Kiyomori himself presented the dedications to the Shrine. Kiyomori is said to have read the sutras intensively, praying for the lasting glory of his clan, dying a peaceful death and going to paradise.

The Shinto priests appear in the roofed corridors in the morning. After purifying themselves, they would offer their prayers and attend to their duties. Just 4 years after Kiyomori’s death, the Taira clan clashed with the Genji clan in the battle of Danno-ura. The Taira clan perished in the waters of the Seto Inland Sea. The Shrine today quietly sits on those same waters.