https://vimeo.com/7990690 While many cultural institutions and sites in Japan have elected to register with UNESCO as pieces of world heritage, Ise Grand Shrine has resisted this trend, as the traditions and rituals that take place there, far from being relics of the past, are still very much alive. The complex’s inner shrine, Naiku, is said to enshrine Amaterasu-Okami, goddess of the sun in Shinto mythology and legendary ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. Members of the imperial family routinely visit the shrine, and the upper echelons of the priesthood are still comprised mainly of former members of the imperial family.