Ise

Futamigaura, Japan

Ise, formerly (until 1956) Uji-Yamada, city, eastern Mie ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan. It is situated on the Shima Peninsula on the southern shore of Ise Bay (Ise-wan) of the Pacific Ocean, about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Matsuzaka.

The city contains several major Shintō shrines. Central among those is the Ise Shrine (Ise-jingū), also called the Grand Shrine of Ise (Ise-daijingū), which consists of scores of buildings and constitutes one of the religion’s most-sacred places. Pilgrimages to the shrines are popular and supplement the city’s tourism sector, a major component of the local economy. Ise is wholly within Ise-Shima National Park. Near the city on the bay is the beach at Futamigaura, which is renowned for two offshore rocks called Meotoiwa (“Wedded Rocks”) that are said to be associated with Izanagi and Izanami, the legendary creators of Japan. Pop. (2000) 100,145; (2010) 130,271.