Among the approximately 100,000 Shinto shrines from Japan, the Atsuta Jingū from Nagoya is the second-most venerable shrine, second only to Ise Jingū.
Established 1900 years ago, the shrine is also known as Atsuta Sama ("Venerable Atsuta") or Miya ("The Shrine").
Here it is enshrined one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, the sacred sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. The importance of the sacred treasures is so great that Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and the two other Sacred Treasures, the mirror Yata no Kagami (from Ise Jingū), and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama (from the Tokyo Imperial Palace) were never displayed in public. They are presented only during the imperial enthronement ceremony and only for the Emperor and the Shinto priests. Of course, they will remain protected like this forever…
But I recently read on Wiki an anecdote about a TV crew from NHK that boldly went to Atsuta Jingū to… record the sacred sword. And of course, they were sent away…
Yesterday’s Japan Photo: