Architecture:
The most obvious comparison to be made between the architecture of Izumo Taisha and Itsukushima Jinja is the sheer size and also, the more landlocked appearance of Izumo. The kami of Itsukushima are sea kami and Okuninushi of Izumo is a kami mostly associated with marriage and the land. Itsukushima sits down on the water by high tide, and by low tide is on exposed stilts on a large beach. Izumo rises majestically above a wooded, hilly, area. Itsukushima also has a newer appearance; it has a relatively fresh coat of red paint, where Izumo has weathered wood. This in a way adds to the majesty and sense of age of the building. Itsukushima has little rooms and stages linked by open air corridors and Izumo is several large buildings and one main enormous building that are mostly enclosed.
Also, the architecture of Izumo could be described as more masculine. The sheer size has much to do with this, the building itself is massive and the adornments also have a sense of strong angles and broad strokes. Itsukushima seems more subtle and open and, to me at least, more feminine.
Behavior:
At Izumo we also saw a ceremony taking place; apparently someone had paid for it, which did not happen while we were at Itsukushima. Interestingly enough, many of our group members seemed to be showing more reverence (perhaps due as much to the fact that we didn’t want to miss anything as to upbringing) than the observing Japanese who kept on making their offerings complete with jingling money and hand clapping. So though I would say that more people who were at Izumo seemed to be doing things there still seemed to be a lack of what I, at least, would consider traditional religious reverence.
I also saw some larger coins and bills in the Izumo bin which I didn’t see at Itsukushima. Whether that is typical or whether that just means it was a slow day for Benzaiten, I don’t have any idea.
Also one thing I noticed, when my host mother and I talked about Miyajima she simply described it as a nice place to visit, but about Izumo she said that it is the place you go to when you want a good marriage if you are single or engaged. Another indicator, to me, that the Izumo shrine has more serious ritual significance than Itsukushima.
Mythology:
It seems that any area with stories attached to it is taken more seriously, even Christians for whom God is all present will take pilgrimages to Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Holy land to “feel closer to God”. The town I used to live was the site of a place of deep importance to many local Native American myths. Every year a pageant was preformed on the Song of Hiawatha, and many people, all of them not of Native American descent, seemed to truly believe that either we were protected by this sacred land or, in the case of some rather zealous church members, cursed because of the pagan presence.
How does one get closer to a god who is everywhere? How do piles of rocks and holes in the ground protect or curse anything? Why do a bunch of white people get together and dress like “Indians” and put on a show near a sacred Sioux quarry. Perhaps there is something similar happening here as what happens to the Japanese. I think that deep down, people don’t believe what they are saying, but they DO say it and they DO do it, but most may have to admit at the heart of it that they do it for themselves or maybe for social reasons. In the case of my town, whether you proclaim what we have a blessing or a curse is dependent upon your social circle. Either way you attend the pageant and visit the monument, and have some little carved trinket SOMEWHERE in your house that’s part of the community. It is what names the town. It’s important.
In the case of Izumo I think something similar is happening, this is what it is famous for, going here has meaning that is deeper than the area, that has something to do with community. The people that come here from elsewhere perhaps are drawn by the seemingly deeper belief which is brought from the community through the deep mythology of the reason. Only at Izumo, it is more pronounced because the myths that take place here have not only regional significance but are traceable to the creation myths of the entire nation. I don’t even really know where Benzaiten came from, (okay well we hear in class but for all practical purposes I don’t) but I was able to buy a children’s story book about Susano, the father of the kami of Izumo, from a bookstore in Hondoori. One was also able to purchase stories of Okuninushi himself. I think that this leads more people to Izumo because it is a place with deep stories and is more than simply a nice place to visit with a shrine.
I noticed very quickly that there seemed to be many more omikugi tied to fences and trees at Izumo. However, even though Itsukushima was by no means crowded the day we went there seemed to be fewer people there than were at Izumo the day we went. It seemed that more people were going to Izumo for “business” instead of “tourism”, blurred as that line may be in Japan.
The mythology of Izumo is much more pronounced, simply because it is acknowledged. There are statues of Okuninushi in the gardens, almost all websites I’ve looked for about Izumo mention his name and a blurb about his myth. The Izumo region itself seems to have richer mythology, being where Susano wandered around and did some stuff. It seems that this is part of what leads to the feeling that Izumo is a more serious place. Whether or not belief is important to the people of Japan and their religious identity, it seems that what belief exists is stronger in Izumo than elsewhere.