Izumo Taisha, located in Shimane Prefecture, is one of the oldest and most important Shinto shrines in Japan, second only to the Ise Grand Shrine. Shinto mythology says that the sun goddess Amaterasu personally presented this shrine to the god Okuninushi personally after he gave the country of Japan to her grandson, the great-grandfather of the first Emperor of Japan. It is not known exactly when it was built, but in the 10th Century it is said to be about 48 meters tall, even taller than Todai-ji. It was reduced in size during the Kamakura period, and today it stands only half as tall as its original size. It was an important location for pilgrimage during the 18th and 19th Century, and one of the most important government-funded shrines in the Meiji Period.
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