The first shrine on the Miyajima Island was built in 593, but the building was smaller than the one we know today. The shrine was rebuilt at the end of the Heian period, during the reign of Taira no Kiyomori, the leader of the Heike clan and immediately became an important place of worship. Since the Emperor and the Imperial Court were also coming to pray at the Itsukushima Shrine, during the same period Bugaku, the Japanese court dance, started to be performed on a temporary stage. Later, during the Edo period, in front of the shrine was built the high stage photographed here: called taka-butai, this kind of Japanese traditional stage is always square-shaped, with two stairs.

Taka-Butai (High Stage), Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima

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