The Ise Shrine is a Shinto establishment dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu Omikami who is the mythological ancestor of the imperial family. Ise Shrine was originally reserved for worship only by the imperial family and their priests, but subsequently, it became a popular place to visit on a pilgrimage, particularly in the later Edo period when pilgrimages became a thin disguise for tourism. In the late Edo period and in the modern period after 1868, the prestige of the imperial family has risen because of the close identification of the modern state and the emperor. Accordingly, visits to Ise Shrine have also become even more popular.
