| Meiwa 明和町 |
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| — Town — | |||
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| Location of Meiwa in Mie | |||
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Meiwa
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Kansai | ||
| Prefecture | Mie | ||
| District | Taki | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Yukimitsu Nakai | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 40.92 km2 (15.8 sq mi) | ||
| Population (May 2010) | |||
| • Total | 22,797 | ||
| • Density | 557/km2 (1,442.6/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
| City symbols | |||
| - Tree | Inumaki | ||
| - Flower | Iris | ||
| Phone number | 0596-52-7111 | ||
| Address | 945 Daigaku-Umanoue, Meiwa-chō, Taki-gun, Mie-ken 515-0332 |
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| Website | Town of Meiwa | ||
Meiwa (明和町 Meiwa-chō) is a town located in the Taki District, of central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan.
In 1958, the town of Sanwa and the village of Saimei merged to form the town of Meiwa.
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Meiwa is best known as the location of the ancient Saikū, residence of the Saiō. A Saiō was an unmarried Imperial princess who, in place of the Emperor, was dispatched to serve as the High Priestess of Ise Grand Shrine. When the emperor ascended the throne, divination was used to choose a Saiō from among the unmarried princesses of the Imperial family. The Saiō would then, after a time of purification, leave the capital in Kyōto to reside at the Saikū, just 10 km northwest of Ise Grand Shrine. The Saiō system began in the latter half of the 7th century and lasted for roughly 660 years, before disappearing during the disturbances of the Nanbokuchō period around the mid 14th century.
Legend relates that 2,000 years ago, the divine Yamatohime-no-Mikoto set out from Mt. Miwa, in Nara Prefecture, in search of the place where the goddess Amaterasu-Ōmikami was enshrined. More than twenty years of travel finally brought her to the goal of her search in Ise. It was from this event that the Saiō system gets its origin, and following upon the example set by Yamatohime-no-Mikoto, it is to women that the responsibility of protecting Amaterasu-Ōmikami has been entrusted.
On her journey, Yamatohime-no-Mikoto traveled down the Kushida River and stopped at Sasafue where she erected a shrine. That shrine remains in Meiwa today as the Sasafue-Angū Ruins. She then set out upon the ocean, which at the time was so calm she named the area Ōyodo (translating roughly to "great stillness"), and founded the Ōyodo Shrine.
According to the Man'yōshū (The Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves), the first Saiō was the princess Okunohime-miko, daughter of Emperor Temmu. The Saiō was primarily responsible for performing three important Shinto rituals at Ise Grand Shrine. In June and November she would visit the shrine to pray and hold the Tsukinamisai Festivals. The third was the Kannamesai Festival 神嘗祭, held in September, in which she made offerings to the gods of the year's new grain harvest, and of which she herself partook.
During the Edo period the area developed into a thriving agricultural center and post-town, providing lodging to people making the pilgrimage to Ise Grand Shrine. Vestiges of these ancient times are still to be found today.
Sanco does not operate bus lines to Meiwa, however the town of Meiwa runs a small bus line that connects Myōjō Station and Saikū Station with the Meiwa City Hall and the huge Meiwa Jusco shopping center. Buses run hourly from the stations and only operate between 8:00am and 6:00pm.
Meiwa is bordered by:
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Meiwa,_Mie Meiwa, Mie] at Wikimedia Commons