Members of the Shinto priesthood try to push down a sacred timber from a wheeled platform at the end of Mihishirogi Hoeishiki, a ceremony of the Shikinen Sengu ritual to rebuild the shrine's main structures for Shinto deities, at the Ise Jingu shrine complex, in Ise, central Japan, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
September 22, 2025 - 9:16 PM
ISE, Japan (AP) — Ise Jingu is Japan’s most revered Shinto shrine, which every 20 years is completely knocked down and rebuilt in an expensive, time-consuming process that has endured for the last 1,300 years.
The last operation to replace the 125 shrine buildings was completed in 2013, and this year marks the beginning of the latest process, which is being documented by journalists for The Associated Press.
More than 30 ceremonies and festivals are held, and workers will collect and process more than 10,000 cypress trees for the new shrine in a process called Shikinen Sengu. During a ceremony set for 2033, the presiding deity will be transferred to the new shrine.
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