Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢神宮, Ise Jingū), located in the city of Ise, Mie, Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as Jingū (神宮), Ise Jingū is in fact a shrine complex composed of a large number of Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, Naikū (内宮) and Gekū (外宮).
The Inner Shrine, Naikū (also officially known as "Kotai Jingū"), is located in the town of Uji-tachi, south of central Ise, and is dedicated to the worship of Amaterasu. The Outer Shrine, Gekū (also officially known as "Toyouke Daijingu"), is located about six kilometers from Naikū and dedicated to Toyouke-Ōmikami, the deity of agriculture and industry. Besides Naikū and Gekū, there are an additional 123 Shinto shrines in Ise City and the surrounding areas, 91 of them connected to Naikū and 32 to Gekū.
Purportedly the home of the Sacred Mirror, the shrine is one of Shinto's holiest and most important sites. Access to both sites is strictly limited, with the common public allowed to see little more than the thatched roofs of the central structures, hidden behind four tall wooden fences. The chief priest or priestess of Ise Shrine must come from the Imperial House of Japan and is responsible for watching over the Shrine.
GEK is an acronym that may refer to:
Lorena may refer to:
Lorena is the self-titled debut album of the Spanish singer Lorena. It was released on 27 March 2007 in Spain, two months after winning fifth series of Spanish Operación Triunfo in 2006. It is an album of personal covers of greatest hits of international artists that also includes two new songs.
The album entered and peaked at number 4 of the Spanish Top 100 Albums. Two singles were released from the album: "Sin Medida" in March 2007 and "Otro Amor Vendrá" in July 2007. To date (September 2007) the album has sold more than 40.000 copies.
"Lorena" is an antebellum song with Northern origins. The lyrics were written in 1856 by Rev. Henry D. L. Webster, after a broken engagement. He wrote a long poem about his fiancée but changed her name to "Lorena", an adaptation of "Lenore" from Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven." Henry Webster's friend Joseph Philbrick Webster wrote the music, and the song was first published in Chicago in 1857. It became a favorite of soldiers of both sides during the American Civil War. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
During the American Civil War, soldiers on both sides of the conflict thought of their wives and girlfriends back home when they heard the song "Lorena". One Confederate officer even attributed the South's defeat to the song. He reasoned that upon hearing the mournful ballad the soldiers grew so homesick that they lost their effectiveness as a fighting force.
"Lorena" was based on the lyricist's love for a Zanesville, Ohio girl named Ella Blocksom (who later married William Wartenbee Johnson, Ohio Supreme Court justice from 1879 to 1886).