The "Saiku × Kintetsu Danmitsu Saio Train" has entered service

The "Saiku × Kintetsu Danmitsu Saio Train", designed by HITOHATA, INC., will run from 21 December 2021 until early July 2022, mainly between Kintetsu Nagoya and Ise-Nakagawa, Kintetsu Nagoya and Matsusaka, and Kintetsu Nagoya and Isuzugawa.

This project is part of the "Jingu Gateway" project by the Meiwa Tourism Corporation, which aims to attract visitors to Saiku and Meiwa Town in the post-COVID era. With the cooperation of Kintetsu Railway Co., Ltd., a special train has been given a design inspired by Saiku and the Saio, who have woven 1,300 years of history. The talent Danmitsu has been cast as the Saio, the imperial princess who served the deity.

The design is a reworking of the main visual for "Saiku National Historic Site Heian Picture Scroll Projection Mapping 2021" (held from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 November 2021). It depicts Danmitsu wearing a junihitoe in the role of the Saio, together with the main hall reconstructed in "Saiku Heian no Mori" at the Saiku National Historic Site.

Service information

[Period of operation] Tuesday 21 December 2021 - early July 2022

[Sections]

(1) Kintetsu Nagoya - Ise-Nakagawa (Nagoya Line)

(2) Kintetsu Nagoya - Matsusaka (Nagoya Line, Yamada Line)

(3) Kintetsu Nagoya - Isuzugawa (Nagoya Line, Yamada Line, Toba Line)

* The train may also run on sections other than those listed above.

About "Saiku" and the "Saio"

Saiku, which has deep ties to Ise Jingu in Mie Prefecture, was the capital of the Saio — the unmarried imperial princesses who served Amaterasu Omikami at Ise Jingu on behalf of the Emperor for more than 660 years, from the Asuka period to the end of the Kamakura period.

At the Saiku site in Meiwa Town, Mie Prefecture — the only place in Japan where Saiku existed, and a land that local people have long protected as sacred — three Heian-period buildings of the "Saikuryocho" have been reconstructed using ancient architectural techniques.

More than 60 women are said to have served as Saio. Each of them left her family and her life in the capital behind and spent her days in prayer at Saiku until the Emperor's reign came to an end. Some, being in the service of the deity, were forbidden to love and were parted from those they cared for.

The talent Danmitsu cast in the role of the "Saio"

The talent Danmitsu has been cast as the Saio, the imperial princess who served the deity.

The Saito family name found throughout Japan is said to originate from the "Saigu no Kami", the head of the Saikuryo who served the Saio, and to be the ancestor of those who bear the name today. Danmitsu's real (maiden) name is Saito, and she also matches the image people hold of the Saio, and so she was chosen for the role.

<Danmitsu profile>

・ Date of birth: 3 December 1980

・ Blood type: O

・ From: Akita Prefecture

・ Qualifications: Master of Japanese classical dance

・ Official website: https://dan-mitsu.jp/

・ Blog: https://ameblo.jp/sizuka-ryu/