The Ise Grand Shrine is one of Japan’s most important Shinto Shrines. This week, as the Emperor and Empress visit, the shrine is launching a new web animation with music from Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. The tune might sound familiar.
The composition closely resembles the Final Fantasy “Prelude” — if it’s not, you know, simply that song. However, Uematsu isn’t calling the song “Prelude” and is giving it another title: “Ise no Isuzu no Mori no Miya” (いせの いすずの もりのみや) or, loosely, “The Wooden Shrine of Ise’s Isuzu.”
As Famitsu points out, Uematsu wrote online in 2012 that the shrine’s chief priest was a fan of Final Fantasy‘s music. That might explain the tune — well, that, and its ethereal quality certainly seems to suit the video. However, I’m not sure if Square Enix is involved in this in any way, however — it doesn’t look like it as, unless I’m missing something, both the website and the video are devoid of the typical Square Enix copyrights.
Former Square Enix art designer Hideo Minaba, who currently has his own freelance design studio, did the art direction for the Ise Grand Shrine animation.
The royal family is visiting the shrine because its wooden structures were recently rebuilt — as they are every twenty years.
In case you missed it, here is some of the best Final Fantasy music.
Ise Jingu [Official Site]
Comments
2 responses to “New Japanese Anime Is Like Final Fantasy Turned Into A Religious Experience”
I see you have mentioned a shrine this show is based on but not the name of the actual show. Bashcraft is the reason kotaku needs an article rating system.
The title is vague enough to be misleading and the article doesn’t explicitly state it but implies that this is not some TV show, but rather, some promotional one-shot piece for the temple.