Izumo Taisha (出雲大社; also Izumo no Ōyashiro) is one of the most ancient and important of the Shinto shrines in Japan. Its name means "The Grand Shrine of Izumo." No record gives the date of establishment. Located in Taisha, Shimane Prefecture, it is home to two major festivals. It is dedicated to the god Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto. A Jinja (Japanese: 神社) is a Shinto shrine including its surrounding natural area but it is more common to refer to buildings as a jinja. ... Izumo (出雲国; Izumo no kuni) was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane prefecture in the Chugoku region. ... Taisha (大社町; -machi) is a town located in Hikawa District, Shimane, Japan. ... Jump to: navigation, search Shimane Prefecture (島根県 Shimane-ken) is located in the Chugoku region on Honshu island, Japan. ... Ookuninushi probably refers to the god Izunome Ookunitama Ookuninushi Oomikami Sama, Shinto god that rules over the material world. ...

A style of architecture, Taisha-zukuri, takes its name from the main hall of Izumo Taisha. That hall, and the attached buildings, are National Treasures of Japan. According to tradition, the hall was previously much taller than it presently is. The recent discovery of the remains of enormous pillars has lent credence to this.-1...

Several other buildings in the shrine compound are on the list of Important Cultural Assets of Japan.

It has been hypothesized that the shrine may have been erected by the founders of the Yamato civilization in Japan, after their arrival from the Korean peninsula. Most Japanese and Western scholars dispute that the Yamato civilization has Korean origins, however. History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Yamato period (大和) (better known as the Kofun... The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Yamato period (大和) (better known as the Kofun...

References

• Korean Impact on Japanese Culture: Japan's Hidden History, Dr. Jon Carter Covell and Alan Covell. New Jersey, and Seoul: Hollyum Corporation Publishers, 1984.