Meiji Shrine

Attraction > Shrine

Ok, now we are talking the most visited and probably most famous shrine in Japan, Meiji Shrine (in Japanese; Meiji 明治神宮).  Why is it the most visited and most famous? Well... it does have great historical significance but one of main reasons it is visited so much is that it is right down town Tokyo next to one of the most popular stations in Tokyo!  Meiji Shrine is a shrine dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912) and his wife Empress Shoken (1849-1914).  Built in an area where the Emporer and Empress liked to visit, Meiji Shrine was "officially" completed in 1926 inside what is now Yoyogi Park, a forested "quiet" area within the densely built up Tokyo.  Emperor Meiji is well known for being the Emperor who quickly brought Japan from a feudal "backward" country at the time (Shoguns and Samurai) to a capitalist modern imperial world power. The shrine was destroyed during the Tokyo bombings in World War 2 but rebuilt in the late 1950's.