Aesthetic Authenticity without Historical Genesis: On the Ceremonial System of Periodic Reconstruction at Ise Shrine

Abstract

Many Japanese shrines are periodically reconstructed once a specific number of decades. The convention of such periodic reconstruction has two primary functions: first, the architectural function of maintaining the fragile wooden buildings, and second, the religious function of purifying the gods' dwelling. In general, the reconstruction is conducted by renovating certain parts of the shrine buildings. However, at Ise Shrine, the reconstruction is conducted in a considerably different manner, in which an identical new building is erected on an adjoining site of the same size. The old building is then demolished, leaving the site empty for twenty years until the next reconstruction occurs there. This paper discusses the significance of this unique manner of reconstruction regarding the aesthetic value of its peculiar function, apart from architectural and religious functions. The convention of periodic reconstruction at Ise Shrine goes back to the seventh century. However, with no existent document about the original building, we cannot identify its architecture nor can we determine whether the present building truly maintains the original form. Furthermore, throughout the long tradition of reconstruction, nothing has remained of the older buildings. It can be said that the historical genesis of the building is entirely unknown. Nevertheless, the present building is considered an authentic successor of the ancient original. What, then, is the source of such sense of authenticity? Indeed, the new building inherits nothing from the past, and the truth of its origin remains completely invisible, yet this becomes the reason for the ancient original to be idealized even more. The new building is by no means a vestige of the distant past, rather a symbolic image that represents the invisible ＂idea＂ of the ancient original. The present building connects itself directly with the ancient past in an imaginative way and aesthetically generates its authenticity.