Monument of Nihon Sankei

The "Nihon Sankei" Monument is a stone marker on the seaside promenade, close to the Miyajima Pier. "Nihon Sankei" refers to Japan’s three most celebrated scenic spots: Matsushima (Miyagi), Amanohashidate (Kyoto), and Miyajima. The idea became widely known after the early Edo-period scholar Hayashi Razan wrote about it in a book titled "Nihon Kokujikō." Accordingly, the monument is engraved with Hayashi Razan’s name, the year the book was written (Kanei 20, i.e., 1643), and a classical Chinese text stating that the three places—Aki Itsukushima (now western Hiroshima Prefecture), Mutsu Matsushima (roughly today’s Fukushima/Miyagi/Iwate/Aomori area), and Tango Amanohashidate (northern Kyoto)—are remarkable views. Miyajima’s official name is Itsukushima, but from around the mid-Edo period it also came to be called Miyajima, and today that name is more commonly used, partly because it is easier to write. Near the monument are a statue of Taira no Kiyomori (who shaped Itsukushima Shrine into its current shinden-style form) and a World Heritage monument with an opening through which you can see the shrine’s torii.