Izumo Taisha Shrine: The Ancient Meeting Place of the Gods (Photos)

This huge shimenawa rope is the most famous symbol of the Izumo Shrine.

The Ōharae (great purification) ceremony takes place on New Year’s Eve as a way of exorcising the sins and impurities of the previous year.

The new shrine buildings. The structures are completely rebuilt every 60 years.

A view from the beach at Inasa no hama, an important site in Japanese myth.

A procession of priests makes its way along the pine-lined pathway. The prayer hall is in the background.

The main shrine building is built in the oldest style of religious architecture in Japan, known as “taisha-zukuri.”

The Ichino torii gate, with Mt. Misen rising up behind the shrine.

Priests bow in greeting before a shrine ceremony.

The shimenawa rope represents the dividing line between the mundane world and the realm of the kami.

A traditional ceremony performed each January 3 to pray for good fortune in the coming year.

This is where miko shrine maidens perform dances of thanksgiving and prayer to the gods.

The resplendent roofs of the new buildings, surrounded by spring foliage.

The shrine deity is returned to the shrine after rebuilding, accompanied by the solemn sounds of flutes and drums.

Priests in procession to the prayer hall, paper parasols and lanterns in hand.

Nightfall over Benten-jima, in the center of Inasa-no-hama beach.