Prologue: In the Province of the Gods

If ever I needed the presence of the gods, now is the time. I arrive at Izumo Taisha, the second-most-sacred shrine in Japan, in early October. According to legend, the sun goddess Amaterasu built the original shrine. In every other part of Japan, the tenth month of the year is known as kannazuki, the month without gods, because every October all eight million Shinto deities visit Izumo Taisha for kanari matsuri. The gods are now in residence. I stand under the graceful wooden torii marking the entrance to the shrine’s forested grounds, then, with my cane, maneuver down the Seki-no-Baba,