Clear the Ise-Shima Local Quiz and earn the Ise-Shima Local title. Want to know Ise-Shima even better, or already confident? The tougher courses are next.
Can you give the formal names of the Inner and Outer Shrines — and say which bridge leads into each? This quiz pairs the Ise side of the region — Ise Jingu, the Shikinen Sengu rebuilding rite, the approach through Oharaimachi and Okage Yokocho, a bowl of soft Ise udon — with the Shima side: ama divers working the inlets of Ago Bay, pearl farming built on the akoya oyster, and the wide view from Yokoyama Observatory. Two coastlines with very different characters, joined in one quiz. The daily question on this page lets you feel out how it asks before you take on the ranked tiers.
The kami enshrined at Naiku, formally Kotaijingu, is Amaterasu-Omikami, regarded as the ancestral deity of the imperial line. Tradition holds she was enshrined at this site roughly two thousand years ago, and the buildings around her have been rebuilt on the same sacred ground every twenty years ever since through the Shikinen Sengu ritual. Visitors traditionally cross Ujibashi Bridge and walk over white gravel on their way to the main sanctuary, a custom followed since ancient times.
The kami enshrined at Geku, formally Toyouke Daijingu, is Toyo'uke-no-Omikami, revered as a guardian of food, clothing, shelter, and industry. Tradition holds she was invited from the old province of Tanba around 1,500 years ago specifically to provide meals for Amaterasu, the deity enshrined at Naiku. Tall cedar groves line the approach to the shrine, giving the whole precinct a hushed, cathedral-like quiet.
Q3.What is the grand festival held every 20 years at Ise Jingu called?
Mikihiki-hajimeshiki
Oshiraishi-mochi event
Shikinen Sengu
Sengyo
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Correct answerShikinen Sengu
Shikinen Sengu is Ise Jingu's grandest ritual, in which the shrine buildings and sacred treasures are entirely renewed and the kami is moved to a freshly built site right next door every twenty years. The very first Shikinen Sengu is said to have taken place during the Asuka period, and the same twenty-year cycle has continued ever since. Including preparations, the full sequence of ceremonies stretches across roughly eight years.
Q4.What are the color and flavor of Ise udon sauce?
Strongly sour and spicy
White and flavorless
Dark-colored and sweet-savory
Light-colored and refreshing
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Correct answerDark-colored and sweet-savory
Ise udon's sauce is dark-colored and richly sweet-savory. The style is said to have taken shape at roadside stalls during the Edo period, serving a quick, ready meal to crowds of Ise pilgrims passing through. The customary way to eat it is simply topped with chopped scallions, working the sauce thoroughly into the noodles before finishing every strand.
Q5.What creature is especially cherished at Futami Okitama Shrine, tied to good-luck wordplay such as 'returning safely' (kaeru)?
Frog
Fox
Deer
Crow
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Correct answerFrog
Futami Okitama Shrine displays many votive frog figures, known as 'Futami frogs,' linked to good-luck wordplay such as 'kaeru' (to return safely) and 'wakagaeru' (to feel young again).
