Lecture by Svend M. Hvass, Architect MAA

“Ise - Japan's Ise Shrines - Ancient yet New”

 

Mr. Svend M. Hvass, who is an architect and a researcher of Ise shrine, was invited on the 21 st February 2014 to lecture about “Ise - Japan's Ise Shrines - Ancient yet New” . The event was held at KUA (Southern Campus of University of Copenhagen), arranged in cooperation with the Danish-Japanese Society and Copenhagen University.

 

For more than 1300 years the Ise Shrine, one of the oldest in Japan, has been rebuilt, in principle every 20 years, with the first so called "Sengu" event taking place in the year 690. The lecturer, Mr.Hvass, has witnessed three Sengus in a row, and this lecture was based on his research conducted over the previous eight years, culminating at the 62nd Sengu in 2013.

Mr.Hvass, a principal member of Danish-Japanese Society, has published the book “Ise - Japan's Ise Shrines - Ancient Yet New” (1999). He has lectured and held exhibitions about Ise in Denmark, Sweden, England and Japan and through these and other activities he has contributed significantly to the cultural exchange between Europe and Japan.

In the lecture Mr.Hvass dealt with various aspects of the Ise Shrine, such as the history, the architecture, the work of the many artisans who contribute to the rebuilding process, the treasures housed in the sacred buildings, the cost of the renewal and how the old materials are reused after the completion of the renewal. Throughout the lecture Mr. Hvass showed many of his precious photos, also from the inner areas otherwise closed to the general public.

In the audience there were various people, including an NHK-representative, carpenters, architects, Japanese language-students and people with a specific interest in Japan. Everybody seemed very impressed by the lecture . There was so many from the audience that some of them were not able to take a seat.

 

 

 

In the Q&A session there were numerous questions about Ise, and there were active discussions between the audience and the lecturer. Even after his presentation many from the audience surrounded Mr.Hvass to talk with him and also to touch a piece of cypress timber , which was officially given to Mr.Hvass from Ise. Overall, it was an excellent opportunity to promote and deepen the cultural exchange between Denmark and Japan .