The Ise Jingu, the centre of Shintoism, has been the most sacred place in Japan throughout her history since the Ancient Age. Because of its siginificant status one may well suppose that its every detail has been thoroughly studied, leaving nothing unaccounted for. As it is, however, there remains many puzzles about it, among which I have discussed the following two questions in this paper. The first question is concerned with the origin and nature of the Geku, or the External Shrine, which enshrines Toyuke (豊受) , the Goddess of Agriculture. The Ise Jingu comprises two distinctive shrines, the Geku and Naiku(Internal Shrine), the latter of which enshrines the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, the mythical founding ancestress of the royal family. Originally, only the shrine of Amaterasu appears to have existed. These two shrines are separated by the distance of about 5 kilometers. Then, when and why the Geku was founded and bacame called as such ? The second question is related to the first and about ritual procedures. In any ritual involving the two shrines, the first activity always takes place at the Geku, the shrine of inferior status, instead of at the Naiku as one might expect in view of the authoritative tendency of the Japanese who would generally prefer the superior to move first. So, why was this ritual order adopted ?

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