Inasa-no-Hama

Inasa Beach is a sandy shore on the Japan Sea coast in Izumo, about a kilometre west of Izumo Taisha. One of the best known stories in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki is set here, and once a year it becomes the place where the gods of Japan are said to come ashore.

The myth of the land handover

Okuninushi, who had built up and ruled the country, was approached on this shore by a messenger sent from the heavenly realm by the sun goddess Amaterasu. The messenger asked him to hand the land over to the heavenly gods. After some negotiation the request was accepted, and in return a great hall was built for Okuninushi. That hall is understood to be the origin of Izumo Taisha. A rock formation set back from the beach, Byobu-iwa, is pointed out as the spot where the two sides talked.

Kamiarizuki tradition

In the tenth month of the old lunar calendar, which falls in late November or early December today, the gods of Japan are said to gather in Izumo, and this beach is where they are believed to arrive. On the evening of the tenth day of that month, priests from Izumo Taisha hold a rite here by firelight called Kamimukae-shinji, the welcoming of the gods, beginning at seven o'clock and lasting around half an hour. The gods are then led inland to the shrine in procession, which visitors are welcome to follow. It is a religious ceremony rather than a spectacle.

Bentenjima

A round rock rises from the sand near the shore, known locally as Bentenjima. On top of it is a small shrine, Okinogozen Shrine, marked by a torii gate. The rock once stood well out in the bay, and until the 1980s the waves reached its base, but the sand has since built up around it and visitors can now walk all the way round it on dry ground.