- Ise Jingu is a sacred Shinto shrine in Japan, dating back over 2000 years, and is perpetually renewed through a 20-year rebuilding tradition called Shikinen sengu.
- The rebuilding process involves recreating 65 structures, including main shrines, using traditional techniques and materials like hinoki cypress, and requires reproducing thousands of ceremonial artifacts.
- This tradition preserves process knowledge—tacit skills passed down through generations via hands-on training and institutional continuity, ensuring techniques for construction and craftsmanship survive.
- Process knowledge is vulnerable to loss in modern society due to specialization, globalization, and reliance on few experts, as seen in cases like Fogbank production for nuclear warheads.
- Institutions like Ise Jingu adapt over time to maintain knowledge transfer, highlighting the need for dedicated efforts to safeguard process knowledge against cultural and technological changes.