The town of Ise has been the home of the Jingu for over 2000 years. The Jingu is the most honored of the 100,000 Shinto shrines in Japan. The town of Ise, the spiritual heart of Japan, is considered synonymous with the word Jingu. As an old Japanese folk song goes, "Let me go to Ise, I want to see Ise once in my lifetime." This is the dream of the average Japanese. In contrast to the pilgrimage to the Kumano Shrine, where people go there to pray for "reincarnation," the pilgrimage to Ise is one of "thanksgiving," to thank the kami (gods) for the gift of life itself. For the average Japanese, visiting Ise Jingu is a once-in-a-lifetime luxury and very enjoyable. According to records, approximately 5 million people visited Ise during the first half of the "Year of the Thanksgiving" of the Bunsei era (Yedo period ) (A.D.1830). Considering the population of Japan at that time, only 30 million, this number is very high. For centuries, the people of Ise have been hosts to many pilgrims. They take pride in their city, which they consider as being unique. In their deep faith, they feel indebted to "O-Ise-san" for doing so much for them. They would do anything for their "O-Ise-san."