150 years of the town called the "Holy City".

The 1868 edicts separating Shinto from Buddhism triggered haibutsu kishaku, the destruction of Buddhist temples and images, across Japan. In Uji and Yamada, at Jingu's feet, it was especially fierce: nearly 200 temples are said to have been closed. Buddhist elements were removed from Jingu's grounds and surroundings, and monks disappeared completely from the sacred precinct.

Then in the Jingu reforms of 1871, the oshi system was abolished along with hereditary priesthoods. The system that had supported Ise's economy throughout the Edo period was gone almost overnight.

In 1869, Emperor Meiji worshipped at Jingu. This is considered the first reliably recorded visit to Jingu by a reigning emperor in person. Since antiquity, emperors had sent envoys to Jingu but never gone themselves. The visit symbolised the beginning of the modern era, in which Jingu was positioned as the centre of state ritual.

1. 1868Shinto–Buddhist separationFierce anti-Buddhist destruction around Jingu
2. 1869Emperor Meiji worships at JinguThe bond between emperor and Jingu made visible
3. 1871Jingu reforms; oshi abolishedTalismans distributed nationwide as "Jingu Taima"
4. 1886–The Shin'enkaiHouses in front of Uji Bridge are relocated to create today's spacious shrine gardens
5. PrewarUji-Yamada, the "Holy City"A national sacred site and destination for school trips and group pilgrimages

Uji-Yamada Station, completed in 1931, is a three-storey reinforced-concrete station building and a registered tangible cultural property. Dressed in Spanish-style tiles and terracotta ornament, it was a gateway worthy of the "Holy City", welcoming pilgrims arriving by express from Osaka.

Butterfly effect: how the railway changed pilgrimage

1. EdoWeeks on footPilgrims stayed at oshi mansions and spent days touring
2. 1930A day trip from OsakaThe Sangū Express makes same-day visits from Kansai possible
3. ShōwaPilgrimage without an overnight stayIse shifts from a town to stay in to a town to stop by
4. Late ShōwaCars, and a hollow gate townVisitors drive straight to the shrine; the gate town empties
5. 1993–Towards revivalOkage Yokochō brings back "Ise on foot"

On Kurata-yama, between Naikū and Gekū, facilities presenting Jingu's history and culture were brought together in the Meiji era.

In the air raids of 1945, Uji-Yamada City suffered heavy damage, and parts of Jingu and surrounding facilities were hit. After defeat, the Allied occupation's Shinto Directive separated state and Shinto, and Jingu began a new path as a religious corporation.

The first postwar Sengu should have been held in 1949. But postwar turmoil and lack of funds forced a postponement, and only Uji Bridge was rebuilt that year. Thanks to donations from people across Japan, the 59th Shikinen Sengu was finally carried out in 1953. A Sengu funded not by the state but by the people's donations — the same pattern as the Warring States fundraising, and the starting point for how the Sengu is carried out today.