Renovation Ritual Reaches Culmination at Kyoto World Heritage Shrine

KYOTO, JAPAN - APRIL 27: (BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE) Priests carry objects of worship on a path hidden by white curtains to the renovated main buildings of the Shimogamo Jinja shrine on April 27, 2015 in Kyoto, Japan. About 500 invited guests attended the climax of the 34th Shikinen Sengu ceremony at the shrine, in which objects of worship were returned to its main buildings after a two-year absence. Shikinen Sengu is a traditional ceremony conducted every 21 years during which repair and reconstruction work of the facilities is carried out on the grounds of the UNESCO World Heritage site. The objects were returned aboard portable shrines in the darkness of night in the Senzasai god returning ceremony. The shrine's chief priest, Naoto Araki, along with an imperial envoy and other priests, marched to the renovated main buildings on a path hidden by white curtains as priests called out "keihitsu" chants to signal the coming of gods. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)