The Ise Jingu, Japan's largest collection of Shinto shrines, looks almost untouched by time, considering it was first established in the 5th century. But it's not the prayers and the spirits who are keeping the shrines looking new -- it's the worshippers, who have been rebuilding all the shrines from scratch every 20 years for the last 1,300 years.

The ceremonial process of rebuilding the shrines is a practice called the Shikinen Sengu and is taking place for the 62nd time this fall. The ceremony is meant to renew the minds of worshippers and connect them to the ancestral past, says the Jingu shrine website. According to CNN, the materials for the shrine are taken from the 5,500-hectare sacred forest that surrounds Ise Jingu. About 90 hectares of the forest have remained untouched for 16 centuries, while the rest is periodically utilized for the Shikinen Sengu.

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There are about 120 small shrines scattered around the Ise Jingu complex, the main two being Geku (Outer Shrine) and Naiku (Inner Shrine). At Naiku, worshippers honor Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess and ancestral spirit of the Imperial Family, and at Geku the spirit of agriculture and industry, Toyouke Omikami, is worshipped.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, more than seven million worshippers visit Ise Jingu every year. Before worshipping, visitors must purify themselves using water from the temizusha, washing their hands first, then rinsing out their mouth.

Visitors who aren't familiar with the Shinto collection of beliefs can visit a museum in the Geku area of Ise Jingu that details the traditions surrounding the shrines, says CNN.

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