Ise Jingu

• Japan often cited as a country where total reconstruction is common BUT

• Temples of Ise Jingu and Izumo are the only major examples and Izumo has been rebuilt less systematically.

• Ise is rebuilt every 20 years by a process called shikinen sengu ‘the transfer of the god body to a new shrine in a special festival year’. It uses 13,600 cypress trees.