Japan is sprinkled with thousands of Shinto shrines. These are sanctified spaces where kami are invtied to leave Takamagahara and enter the Earthly realms.

Although there are thousands of shrines, they are not all equal. Each shrine is the earthly home of a particular kami and some are more important than others. Izumo and Ise have special shrines.

Amaterasu is the construed as head of the Shinto pantheon and her most important shrine is located in Ise. The Ise shrine is actually a complex of over 100 shrines and other buildings.

The Izumo Shrine is Japan’s oldest shrine having been venerated continuously for over a thousand years. Once a year the eight million kamin leave there regular homes and visit Izumo for a week. This time is called the kannazuki (period without gods) in the rest of Japan and kami-arizuke (period with the gods) in Izumo. The Izumo Shrine is dedicated to Oh-kuni-nushi the patron of marriage.

The Shinto arch often depicted as two pillars with a single or double crossbar is called the torii. This gateless entrance sits in front of all Shinto shrines differentiating it from a Buddhist temple. It marks the beginning of th sanctified space.

I’ve found reference to shrines themselves being divided into a small space for the kami, priests and the relics and a larger area where worships gather to venerate the kami. I’m am not convinced this is generally true.