January 1993 Geijutsu Shincho Special Feature: Izumo, Seat of the Gods, Banri Namikawa, Sagoura, Oki, Masako Shirasu

✳︎ Book Title: Geijutsu Shincho
✳︎ Issue: January 1993
✳︎ Publisher: Shinchosha Co., Ltd.
✳︎ Feature: The Seat of the Gods: Izumo by Banri Namikawa
✳︎ Size: A4 Modified
✳︎ Pages: 152p

【Table of Contents】
【Feature】Banri Namikawa's The Seat of the Gods: Izumo
◉ Part 1: The Great Deities Residing in Izumo
• Where do the gods of Izumo Taisha reside?
• Tracing the image of gods across the Japanese archipelago
• The mystery of the ruling deity of the ancient Izumo Kingdom
◉ Part 2: Playing with the Gods
• Scenes of Naorai (post-ritual feast) where sake is shared after a sacred rite
• The close relationship between gods and humans seen in the Morote Fune ritual and Kagura dances
• Izumo Spirit Realm Chronicle: Visiting the mysterious Ishigami-sama
◉ Part 3: Four Seasons of Sagoura
• A record of tracking the presence of gods for a year, based in Sagoura, a small fishing town on the western tip of the Shimane Peninsula
◉ Part 4: Oki, Land of Wonders
• Unique rituals and nature worship that still live on in the island of Oki
• Exploring Oki as a wonderland, including Yurahime Shrine and Yakihime Shrine
【Series & Readings】
• New Series: Masako Shirasu Autobiography
• Chapter 1: Idaten Osho's Marriage
• New Series: Traveling to Thousand-Year Baths
• A journey to historic hot spring resorts unique to this Onsen Kingdom (Chapter 1: Yunomoto Onsen, Iki Island)
And more

In 1993, photographer Banri Namikawa based himself in Sagoura on the western tip of the Shimane Peninsula and spent a year confronting the gods of Izumo.

This magazine captures not just landscapes, but the fervor of the people of Izumo who revere and play with the unseen spirits.

The torch flames cutting through the darkness and the splashing oar strokes seen in the Sata Shrine Goza-gaeshi ritual and the Morote Fune ritual serve as documentation for modern people to reaffirm their pride in this land where gods exist.

The photographer, Banri Namikawa (1931-2006), was an unparalleled chronicler who traveled to ancient ruins and sacred sites around the world, imprinting their spirituality onto film. He was commissioned by UNESCO to conduct survey photography of the Silk Road and the ruins of Palmyra, and for his achievements, he was the only Japanese person to receive Spain's Al-Andalus Prize. For Namikawa, who constantly questioned What are gods?, Izumo, the land of his ancestors, was a special domain.

Seeking the seat of the gods, he shared sake at the post-ritual Naorai and delved into the core of the ceremonies.

◉⤵︎ Search Terms Below
#IzumoTaisha IzumoTaishaNightVisit IshigamiRitual JodajinjaKagura SataJinjaGozaGaeshiRitual MoroteFuneRitual OkiKokubunjiRengekaiMai OkijurabihimeJinjaFestival SagouraGongenSai OkiumausiRitual JurahimeJinjaIkaDashi OutOfMingei
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