Itsukushima (厳島) is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay.

In the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a famed Japanese warlord and shogun, built a large building, the Senjō-kaku, on a hill above the shrine.

[7] The island is also famous for its upper hill side cherry blossoms and maple leaf autumn foliage.

[8] The island of Itsukushima, including the waters around it (part of Seto Inland Sea), lies within Setonaikai National Park.

At high tide, the sea covers all the previously exposed seabed mud and fills areas underneath the shrine boardwalk.

Momiji manjū, pastries filled with azuki jam or custard, are popular souvenirs and carry maple-leaf emblems.

The shamoji, a style of wooden paddle used to serve cooked rice without impairing the taste, is said to have been invented by a monk who lived on the island.

There are several sites related to the historic Buddhist priest and founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kōbō Daishi (弘法大師) (774–835), including Daishō-in, near the top.

People often take the short ferry ride from mainland Japan to pray at Miyajima's shrines and to marvel at the beauty of its forests.

[14] The historic shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as one of the National Treasures by the Japanese government.

The temple was the administrator of the Itsukushima shrine before Meiji Restoration forbade (Shinbutsu bunri) syncretism (Shinbutsu-shūgō) between Shinto and Buddhism in 1868.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi started construction of Senjokaku as a Buddhist library in which the chanting of Senbu-kyo sutras could be held for fallen soldiers.

Numerous votive picture tablets that had been hanging in the Itsukushima Shrine buildings until the Meiji era, have been hung on the walls inside the hall.