What
is carried out at Ise is simply a far grander version of a similar pattern.
Rather than being transferred briefly to a temporary site, the god at Ise
is transferred at regular twenty-year intervals to the separate adjacent
site. In this way, it is assured that the buildings will always be fresh
and in good repair, and the survival of the god and its patrons assured.
The empty white-graveled expanse of the alternate site stands always ready
and waiting, a visual guarantee that there will always be a place and a
time for renewal.