Izumo Taisha (出雲大社) 出雲大社
The shimenawa of the Kagura-den: 5.2 tonnes, 13 metres, remade by hand elsewhere.
Shinto shrine in Izumo, among the oldest in Japan according to tradition: the first records of restorations date back to 659, under Empress Saimei. The current Honden, about 24 metres high, was rebuilt in 1744 and has been a National Treasure since 1952; twenty-one buildings and a torii (the gate that marks the entrance to a sacred area) have been Important Cultural Properties since 2004. It is dedicated to Ōkuninushi, a deity of bonds (not only marital ones), and is the destination of one of the most widely practised Shinto pilgrimages in Japan.
Shimane
Izumo Taisha-mae
