When I arrived in Ise, there was some kind of St. Patrick's day celebration going on, and the streets were decorated with Irish flags. There were a couple of performers and people making speeches, but I didn't really stop to watch.
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| Girls preparing for their St. Patrick's Day performance (under the watchful eye of their teacher) |
The main attraction in Ise is Ise Jingu - allegedly Japan's most sacred Shinto shrine. So sacred, in fact, that most of the shrine's buildings are blocked from viewing - and entering, of course - by tall wooden fences. It is possible to catch a glimpse of a roof here and there, but for most buildings, that's all you get.
Ise Jingu actually consists of two parts, called Geku (outer shrine) and Naiku (inner shrine). Both parts seem to be made for huge crowds of tourists (or worshippers... or both, probably). Just have a look at the amount of ladles for ritual cleaning - or the amount of toilets available... As you can see from the lack of people in the pictures, Geku was pretty much deserted today.
The building in the next picture is just about the only building in Geku that is not hidden behind a fence. I read somewhere that it is a smaller version of one of the buildings inside, so maybe this is what the "real" shrine actually looks like.
Having seen everything Geku has to offer, I hopped on a bus to go to Naiku which is about 6km away.
Compared to Geku, this place was packed. But, as I overheard some people inside, still quite empty when compared to the beginning of January. As you would expect, the most sacred shrine is an extremely popular choice for Hatsumode - the first shrine visit in the new year.
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| I have no idea why people stopped to touch these pillars, but many did... |
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| This is the one unfenced building in Naiku |
In both Geku and Naiku, I saw something strange that I still don't understand (maybe someone who reads this can enlighten me?). There was a small area marked off with a rope. People stood around it and extended their hands towards the center. And in the center was... a stone. As far as I could see, a pretty ordinary stone, too. So why did people do that?!?
I was finished visiting Naiku at around 3pm. As I felt it was still too early to go back home, I decided to continue to Toba. The only thing I had time for in Toba was a visit to Mikimoto Pearl Island - but according to my travel guide, that's just about all there is to see in Toba (apart from the aquarium). I arrived only 45 minutes before their closing time, and the staff seemed to think this was way too short to really appreciate the island. I insisted on going in, and ended up getting a nice discount on the entry fee :-)
The first thing inside was the ama divers show. Ama are women who dive for pearls. Traditionally, they wore nothing but thin white clothes to scare animals away - and dove like this even in winter! As you can see in the pictures, the ama in the show dove in these clothes. Water temperature: 7°C! In reality, however, the divers use wet suits these days.
Next, I went to the pearl museum. On the ground floor, they have some information on how pearls are acquired and processed, and on the top floor there is a jewellery exhibit.
There are some really gorgeous pieces of jewellery on display. Have a look at these two:
The next one is actually for sale in the pearl shop... for a meagre 210.000 Yen!
They also display some other things people have made with pearls, for example this pagoda...
... and a couple of "paintings" like this one:
The only thing that really made me think, however, was this exhibit:
Apparently, this is how they keep the oysters during pearl cultivation... neatly separated into tiny metal cages. And not just for a short period of time - the cultivation process takes between one and seven years!
If you look at how chickens, pigs and cows are kept in industrial livestock farming today, it should come as no surprise that oysters are no exception to factory farming. But still - they are living beings! Should any living being be subjected to this?
