Just as you begin walking the approach to the Naiku, you cross a great wooden bridge over the Isuzu River. This is the Uji Bridge. About 100 meters long, it is no mere passageway: it is held to be a special bridge dividing the everyday world from the pure, sacred world where the deity dwells.

Composing yourself as you cross

Great torii gates stand at both ends of the bridge; passing beneath them, we straighten body and mind and enter the sacred precincts. As you cross, try setting aside the cares of daily life and quietly preparing your heart for the worship to come.

Rebuilt every 20 years

The Uji Bridge, too, is rebuilt roughly every 20 years in step with the Shikinen Sengu, keeping the entrance to the sacred grounds forever fresh. The great torii at either end are said to be made from the former ridge-supporting pillars of the old main sanctuaries of the Naiku and Geku after each Sengu — here, too, lives the Ise spirit of receiving things with care and passing them on.

Cross the Uji Bridge in the early morning, before the crowds arrive, and the breeze over the river and the feel of the wood underfoot are all the more refreshing. When you visit the Naiku, pause once on this bridge and savor the moment of entering the sacred world.