Special Sacred Zone Shrine Around the Grand of Ise From Ove Ows Tokyo, July 10.
The plans for the laying out a Holy City for Japan are steadily assuming definite shape, and representations made in the session of the Diet that the immediate vicinity of the Grand Shrine of -Isé be converted into zone is now in pro-osa of realisation.
The most renowned of the temples of Japan are the Ise Shrines, which, according to tradition and legend, were dedicated before the Birth of Christ to the worship of the Goddes Tenshio Ko Daijin, more monly known as Amaterasu-o-ker or the Sun Goddess, from whom Tuperial line of Japan claims unbroken descent, These temples are located at Yamada, a little country town in the Ise Peninsula, Situated a secluded valley of the Province of Tsé'and encircled by ever-green hills on the slopes of which may. seen the tesselated designs of rice-fields, Yamada commands, a bet ful view of the estuary known today as Owari Bay and its noble background of lofty mountains.
"The Shrines of Ise and their sul sidiary temples ave revered as the oliest in all Japan. 'To all. appear~ ance, they are unchanged from the original edifices and are virtually the same in form and substance. 'They are not the actual fabrics reared 2,000 years ago, of course. fand anyone who knows' the perishable nature of Japanese building material need not be told of this; but. the methods adopted for serving and repeating every detail of construction with meticulous re-Higious fidelity have been so minute~ ly" followed throughout the ages that the absolute similarity of the existing shrines to those first ereetted is believed to be beyond dispute. Incidentally, the Ise Shrines were Jast rebuilt some tone yours ago. In dimensions, proportion, external and internal arrangement, workmanship and simple decorations, the present temples of Ise are literal copies of the Dai Jingu (Grand Shrine: the meaning is more profound and may be better rendered Holy of Holics) consecrated by' the early Emperors: The woods and metals used a1 alike, even to the number of pieces while the manner of joining them together Is also unaltered, Uniformity Ensured Yo guard against the slightest variation and to ensure the per: petual identity of the primitive type, an Imperial Decree wasp! mulgated during the reign of the Emperor Temmu (approximately 674A. D.) that the principal groups buildings must be ye-created every twenty years. Duplicate lots of contiguous land ave held in re-for alternate occupation, and the facsimiles are -set up at the end of each prescribed term before the discarded models ave entirely destroyed or removed: Whether neglected or otherwise prior to G74 A. D. it is, however, mitted that" the customs hag een scrupulously observed since the seventh century of the Christian era, The latest restoration was accomplished in 1929 with the elaborate and impressive revival of the for this important observance.
"The most sacred of the ples is that dedicated to the, Sun Goddess and the fane of Tenshio Ko es. amd exon Spai ate dun culate open, serie, gy rose Thi ier aes ascent
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.