National Parks · Mie
Ise-Shima National Park
伊勢志摩国立公園いせしまこくりつこうえんIse-Shima Kokuritsu KōenSacred forest, pearl bays and a coast of divers
Ise-Shima National Park covers most of the Shima Peninsula in Mie Prefecture, joining the sacred forest of Ise Jingū with the island-studded ria coast of Ago Bay. Designated in 1946, it was the first national park created after the Second World War.
Overview
Ise-Shima National Park spans the Shima Peninsula at the eastern tip of the Kii Peninsula, from the cities of Ise and Toba to Shima and Minami-Ise. Unlike most Japanese national parks it protects not a wilderness but a lived-in landscape: fishing harbours, pearl rafts, terraced hillsides and, at its heart, the forest of Ise Jingū, the most important shrine of Shintō.
Almost all of the land is privately owned or belongs to the shrine, the highest share of any national park in Japan. The park's value lies in the interplay of religion, sea and livelihood: the shrine forest has been managed for over a millennium to supply cypress timber for the rebuilding of the sanctuaries, while the sheltered bays became the cradle of cultured pearls.
Designated on 20 November 1946, Ise-Shima was the first national park established in post-war Japan, and it remains one of the most visited because of the pilgrimage to Ise.
Landscape and formation
The Shima Peninsula is a classic ria coast: a dissected upland of old sedimentary and metamorphic rock that sank relative to the sea, letting the Pacific flood its river valleys. The result is a coastline of extraordinary length for its size, with long fingers of water such as Ago Bay, Matoya Bay and Gokasho Bay reaching deep inland and some sixty islets scattered across Ago Bay alone.
Inland, low forested hills rise to Asama-ga-take (555 m), the highest point of the Ise-Shima area, while the Isuzu River flows through the shrine forest past the Inner Shrine. To the north, the shallow waters off Toba are dotted with inhabited islands such as Tōshi, Sugashima and Kamishima that guard the mouth of Ise Bay.
Highlights
Ago Bay
英虞湾Ago-wanA drowned-valley bay with dozens of wooded islets and floating pearl rafts; the view from the Yokoyama observatory is the park's defining panorama.
- 伊勢神宮Ise Jingū
The Inner Shrine (Naikū) and Outer Shrine (Gekū) with their surrounding forest, which makes up a large part of the park's land area.
Meoto Iwa, Futami
夫婦岩Meoto IwaTwo rocks off the shore of Futami joined by a sacred straw rope; around the summer solstice the sun rises between them.
Asama-ga-take
朝熊ヶ岳Asama-ga-takeA 555 m summit with the temple Kongōshō-ji and wide views over Ise Bay; traditionally visited together with the shrine.
Cape Daiō
大王埼DaiōzakiA headland with a white lighthouse above a treacherous reef, long a subject for painters; the fishing village of Nakiri lies below.
Kamishima
神島KamishimaA small island at the mouth of Ise Bay, the setting of Mishima Yukio's novel The Sound of Waves (1954).
Ecology
Warm currents keep the coast mild, and the natural vegetation is evergreen broadleaf forest. The Ise Jingū forest preserves old stands of camphor, chinquapin and evergreen oak alongside hinoki cypress planted for the shrine's periodic rebuilding. The bays are rich in shellfish and seaweed, the basis of both pearl culture and the ama diving tradition.
Flora
Ubame oak
ウバメガシubamegashiA salt-tolerant evergreen oak that forms dense scrub on wind-exposed headlands.
Yellow hibiscus hamabo
ハマボウhamabōA shrub of brackish shores that flowers yellow in midsummer along the inner reaches of Ago Bay and nearby estuaries.
Hinoki cypress
檜hinokiPlanted in the shrine forest for the timber of the Shikinen Sengū, the rebuilding of the sanctuaries every twenty years.
Fauna
Akoya pearl oyster
アコヤガイakoya-gaiThe oyster used for Japanese cultured pearls; rafts of it fill Ago Bay.
Japanese spiny lobster
伊勢海老ise-ebiNamed after Ise and caught on the rocky coasts of Shima.
Finless porpoise
スナメリsunameriA small porpoise living in the shallow waters of Ise Bay and off Toba.
Culture
Ise-Shima is inseparable from Ise Jingū, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu and the harvest deity Toyouke. Since the Edo period, pilgrimages to Ise (Ise-mairi) drew millions, and the towns of the peninsula grew around serving pilgrims and supplying the shrine with sea produce. Shima is also the heartland of the ama, women free-divers who gather abalone, turban shells and seaweed; Toba and Shima have the largest number of active ama in Japan. In 1893 Mikimoto Kōkichi succeeded in culturing a semi-spherical pearl in the bay off Toba, founding an industry that made the region world-famous.
Naikū (Inner Shrine)
内宮NaikūThe sanctuary of Amaterasu, reached across the Uji Bridge over the Isuzu River.
Gekū (Outer Shrine)
外宮GekūThe sanctuary of Toyouke, by custom visited before the Inner Shrine.
Kongōshō-ji
金剛證寺Kongōshō-jiA Zen temple on Asama-ga-take; an old saying urges pilgrims to Ise not to miss it.
Ama huts
海女小屋ama-goyaSeaside huts where the divers warm themselves by the fire between dives.
Izawa-no-miya
伊雑宮Izawa-no-miyaA detached shrine of the Inner Shrine in Shima, known for its rice-planting ritual in June.
History
late 7th century
The first recorded Shikinen Sengū, the periodic rebuilding of Ise Jingū, is held.
1603–1868
Mass pilgrimages to Ise (okage-mairi) bring millions of commoners through the peninsula.
1893
Mikimoto Kōkichi cultivates the first semi-spherical cultured pearl near Toba.
1946
Designated a national park on 20 November, the first created after the war.
1954
Mishima Yukio publishes The Sound of Waves, set on Kamishima.
2016
The G7 summit is held at Kashikojima on Ago Bay.
Through the seasons
Spring
Mild and green; cherry trees bloom in the shrine precincts and along the Isuzu River, and the ama diving season opens.
Summer
Warm and humid, with swimming beaches on the Pacific side; ama diving is at its busiest, and typhoons can bring heavy seas late in the season.
Autumn
Clear air over Ago Bay and the harvest rites of the shrine; the Kannamesai, the shrine's most important festival of first fruits, takes place in October.
Winter
Mild by Japanese standards; the season for spiny lobster and Matoya oysters, and New Year brings the largest crowds of worshippers to Ise.
Routes and trails
Gekū to Naikū pilgrimage
The traditional order of visit, from the Outer Shrine in central Ise to the Inner Shrine and the Oharai-machi street by bus or on foot.
Ise-Shima Skyline
A mountain road over Asama-ga-take between Ise and Toba with views across Ise Bay.
Ago Bay by boat
Excursion boats from Kashikojima cruise between the islets and pearl rafts.
Shima coastal walk
Paths link the lighthouses of Anorizaki and Daiōzaki with fishing villages and ama huts.
Practical notes
- Kintetsu trains run from Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka to Ise, Toba and Kashikojima; journeys from Nagoya take around one and a half to two hours.
- Most of the park is private or shrine land: stay on public roads and paths, and respect the rules of conduct inside the shrine precincts.
- Ise Jingū is busiest at New Year and on weekends; early morning visits are quieter.
- Typhoons can disrupt boat services in late summer and autumn.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Ise-Shima National Park different from other national parks?
It protects a cultural landscape rather than a wilderness, and almost all of its land is privately or shrine owned. Its core is the forest of Ise Jingū together with the fishing and pearl-farming bays of the Shima Peninsula.
When was Ise-Shima National Park designated?
On 20 November 1946, making it the first national park established in Japan after the Second World War.
Where were cultured pearls invented?
Mikimoto Kōkichi produced the first semi-spherical cultured pearl in 1893 in the waters off Toba, inside today's park.
Who are the ama divers?
Ama are traditional free-divers, mostly women, who gather abalone, shellfish and seaweed without breathing equipment. Toba and Shima have more active ama than any other part of Japan.
How do I get to Ise-Shima National Park?
Kintetsu limited express trains connect Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka with Ise, Toba and Kashikojima; buses serve the shrines and coast.
Related
Sources
- 1.環境省_伊勢志摩国立公園 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省 (Ministry of the Environment)
- 2.環境省_国立公園_国立公園一覧 (opens in a new tab) — 環境省 (Ministry of the Environment)
- 3.National Parks of Japan (opens in a new tab) — Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan
- 4.伊勢神宮 (opens in a new tab) — 神宮司庁