Ise City in Mie Prefecture, Japan, and the Embassy of Japan in London will host a tourism promotion presentation and reception on Monday 9 November 2026, according to the organisers. The event, titled “The City of Ise: The History and Culture of Japan”, will run from 2.00 pm to 4.45 pm in the embassy’s ballroom at 101-104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT, with doors opening at 1.40 pm.
The organisers said attendance is by contact with the Ise City Event Secretariat, run by the London agency Cross Media Ltd, by 26 October.
What is on the programme
The organisers said the event will open with remarks from a representative of the embassy and from Kenichi Suzuki, the Mayor of Ise. A presentation titled “The History and Culture of Ise” will follow.
In it, Haruo Sakurai, Emeritus Professor at Kogakkan University, will introduce “The Spirituality of Ise Jingu and the Philosophy of Tokowaka (Perpetual Renewal)”. Yosuke Kawanishi, President of Miyachu Co., Ltd., a company that specialises in shrine buildings and ritual implements, will discuss “Ise’s Traditional Woodworking Craftsmanship and the Spirit of Gratitude”.
After the talks, the organisers said, there will be a reception with Ise udon, local sake and beer, and traditional Ise confectionery. It will include a tea ceremony demonstration by the Urasenke London Branch and a chance to try Ise matcha. A performance of traditional Okihiki Kiyari songs, a display of traditional items related to Ise and an exhibition of photographs of Ise Jingu are also planned.
The photographs are by Yasumichi Morita, who the organisers described as the CEO of GLAMOROUS Co., Ltd., a designer and artist, and one of the photographers officially recognised by Ise Jingu.
Other Ise events in London
The organisers said this is one of several Ise-related events in London in November. From 3 to 5 November, Ise will take part in the World Travel Market at ExCeL London, where it plans business meetings with companies and organisations including Central Japan Railway, Chubu Centrair International Airport, Kintetsu Railway and Mie Prefecture.
From 6 to 8 November, a programme called “Stories of Renewal: Okihiki and Related Traditions of Ise” is due at Japan House London, according to the organisers. They said it will include a lecture on the Shikinen Sengu and Okihiki ceremonies, a workshop and an exhibition featuring a model of an Okihiki cart.
Ise Jingu and its rebuilding cycle
The organisers described Ise Jingu (Ise Grand Shinto Shrine) as the most sacred site in Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion, with a history of some 2,000 years. They said Ise has been called the “Spiritual Heart of Japan” and, although it is less well known than Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, its heritage and living traditions are important to Japanese culture.
The central tradition is Shikinen Sengu. The Iseshima Tourism and Convention Organization, the regional tourism body, says the ceremony dates back to 690 AD and began at the suggestion of the reigning Emperor. According to the organisers, the main shrine buildings are rebuilt from scratch every 20 years on an adjacent plot using traditional techniques, before the shrine’s deity is ceremonially transferred to the new sanctuary. They said the 63rd renewal will take place in 2033.
The tourism body’s page lists the 2013 renewal as the 62nd and the transfer of the deities as taking place in October 2033, and describes the process as “changing to remain unchanged”.
Okihiki and the local community
The organisers said local people take part in the rebuilding through Okihiki ceremonies, which they said take place in 2026 and 2027 ahead of the renewal in 2033. Residents in festive happi coats pull sacred timber through the streets on carts and sledges along the Isuzugawa River, according to the organisers. The tourism body’s page lists the 2026 Okihiki Festival as running from May to July and calls it “the liveliest ceremony of the entire Shikinen Sengu event”.
The ceremony has drawn high-profile attention this year. Jiji Press reporting carried by Adnkronos said Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, visited Ise Jingu on 2 August 2026 and took part in an Okihiki ceremony, pulling a rope while wearing a white happi coat. The report described Shikinen Sengu as a ritual held every 20 years to rebuild the shrine’s buildings, with the next scheduled for 2033.
The organisers said the rebuilding symbolises tokowaka, the Shinto ideal of eternal youth. Through perpetual renewal, they said, the shrine remains pristine while craft skills pass from one generation to the next.