Ise Shima is a peninsula in Mie Prefecture,
home
to Ise Grand Shrine, the heart of Japan’s Shinto religion,
and a history of pearl cultivation.
The
Shima peninsula, known as Ise Shima, is a coastal
region
in eastern Mie Prefecture. The area is famed as the
home
of the Ise Grand Shrine. The Inner Shrine enshrines the
central deity of Shinto: the sun goddess Amaterasu. As
such, it is the Shinto religion’s most sacred shrine.
According to local tradition, the temple is destroyed and
rebuilt from scratch every 20 years. The original is
believed to have been built over 2000 years ago.
Off the coast is Mikimoto Pearl Island, which was
created
by entrepreneur Mikimoto Kokichi as a center for pearl
cultivation, and today includes a museum about pearls.
The island cultivated pearls for decades using trained
female divers called “Ama”. These professional divers
wore amulets over their pure white diving suits as they
drove meters underwater for the natural sea-formed
gems.
Please see below for tours that
include Ise Shima:
