Ise lies in the east of the Kii peninsula on the island of Honshu. Here, some four kilometres apart, stand two of the main Shinto shrines of Japan – the Kotai-jingu, or Inner Shrine; and the Toyokedai-jingu, or Outer Shrine – as well as 125 ancillary shrines of various rank. Ise has been a place of pilgrimage from medieval times to the present day. The shrines themselves are fenced off and not accessible. The buildings are in a post-and-rail form of construction with an elevated floor level and boarded infill panels in the bays between the structural framing. The gable roofs have a pitch of 45°. Those over the Inner and Outer Shrines are covered with reeds. The roofs over the secondary shrines are covered with boarding. The unpainted cypress wood used for the construction of the main buildings turns a silvery grey within a short time. (Christoph Henrichsen)