Royal wedding at Izumo Taisha shrine 2014/10/06
Takamadonomiya Noriko, a member of royal family and a second cousin of present Emperor had a traditional wedding ceremony with the son of the chief priest of Izumo Taisha shrine yesterday.
According to old myth in Kojiki, the Japanese oldest history book, Izumo kingdom which located in western part of Japan, handed over the control of ancient Japan to Yamato kingdom which is the ancestor of current Royal family. In return, Yamato kingdom built and presented a marvelous shrine to Izumo kingdom.
Izumo taisha is one of the oldest and highest wooden shrine. Current building is 48M high, however according to old records and ruins, it was as high as 96M during Heian era.
Kojiki also tells in the myth world, the ancestor of Royal family and the ancestor of priest of Izumo Taisha shrine are brothers.
Yesterday’s wedding was the marriage between the oldest two families in Japan which have a special relation for long years.
Recent study revealed there was a strong and distinguished kingdom in Izumo area, western part of Japan, in around 1st to 2nd century, while central Japan was controlled and unified probably by another kingdom by the latest mid 3rd century.
Since ancient Japan did not have letters, there are no written records available. On the contrary, it leaves the room for a wide range of scholars or amateurs to announce various kinds of stories and projections on what happened in 2nd to 3rd centuries and also on the relation between Yamato and Izumo.
However, except above mentioned myth story, the real and detailed relation between Yamato and Izumo kingdom is still left unknown to the future study.
Izumo Taisha shrine has been the most popular sightseeing spot in western Japan, and it will surely attract more and more visitors and worshippers of ancient roman.
parade to the wedding ceremony 
izumo taisha
