Ise Jingu and the Origins of Japan

Ise Jingu and the Origins of Japan is the result of over a decade of work by photographer/author Miori Inata. It is an introduction to Japan’s most revered religious site, Ise Jingu, and a photographic record of its unique, fascinating twenty-year ritual of renewal and rebirth.complex world.It is also a personal narrative describing the basic philosophy of the country’s indigenous religion of Shinto, and how its naturalistic approach to harmony and sustainability can offer some lessons for living in today’s increasingly As readers follow the flow of the Isuzu River from its source, through the sanctuary’s environs, rice fields and on to the sea, then watch the long renewal process unfold, they will learn how this area has proven to be a fertile and protected home for the kami (deities) of Japan for some two millennia. As the destination for millions of pilgrims since ancient times, Ise Jingu is surely the soul of Japan—and it has never been so richly described and lovingly photographed as in this book.Miori Inata graduated from Tama Art University in Tokyo, having majored in oil painting. She taught fine arts for a number of years in Tokyo before relocating to New York in 1991. After a photography course at Southampton University, she began her career with a camera, focusing on the people of New York and the city’s culture. Her life changed after watching the tragic events of September 11, 2001 from her apartment window, and she began what was both a personal and professional pilgrimage—travelling the world to photograph sacred religious locations in order to understand the relationship between humans and deities and find the key to peace. This eventually led her to the most revered site of Japan’s Shinto religion, Ise Jingu, where she spent over a decade capturing its essence through its rituals and ceremonies. This is Inata’s sixth book (her first in English). Her photographs have appeared in a number of periodicals, including the Washington Post, Vogue Japan and Aera. She has held exhibitions at the United Nations, Columbia University, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Harvard University, Tokyo National Museum, Shanghai Asian Society, the Israel Museum and many other locations. Visit her website at www.mioriinata.net Read more