Meiji Shrine

entrance to the shrine

Located in Shibuya section of Tokyo, is an amazing shrine originally completed in 1921 and dedicated to the defied spirits of the Emperor Meiji. As with most other original structures within Japan such as the Imperial Palace, the original shrine was destroyed in WWII and the current iteration completed in 1958.

Otorii, grand shrine-gate

hand-washing stone basin

keidai

part of a large garden area

When first entering the grounds of the shrine, you walk amongst hundred or thousands of other tourist and locals alike down a evergreen tree covered gravel walkway. Among the first things you’ll see are a large collection of wine barrels. These barrels were dedicated to honor the friendship Japan has had with Western countries, such as France. It was during the Meiji period where there was an emphasis on integrating “Japanese spirit and Western knowledge”.

Following the barrels, you’ll first pass through huge gates which are pretty cool in their own right, but lend another hint that you’re at somewhere special, and sacred. The gate pictured here is apparently unique in that its the biggest wooden “torii” of the Myōjin style in Japan. It is modeled to be identical to the original built in 1920, and was made of 1500 year old wood found on Mt. Tandai in Taiwan.

Upon passing through the gates, you’ll pass by a entrance to something off to the left. This is the Meiji Jingu Garden, which was originally part of a feudal lord’s mansion owned by the Iis. Ever since the beginning of the Meiji Era (1868) it had become the Imperial Estate and improved upon by Emperor Meiji. Within the garden you will find a great path which is both peaceful as well as beautiful as it winds around several areas, such as the fishing hole, tea house and spring. Note: entrance to the gardens does have an entrance fee of 500 yen.

Just past the gardens, and around the bend, you’ll begin to see a crowd gathering off to the left. When you walk closer, it appears that there is a large stone basin where people are washing their hands. The idea being to purify your hands prior to entering the main shrine area.

After your hands have been purified, you come to the main entrance (shown in the main photo above). This alone is quite beautiful and seems to represent the sort of architecture that I’d typically associate with traditional japan. Walking through this you’ll enter yet another large contained area, sort of like a courtyard or ‘Keidai’ in Japanese.

Within the large courtyard area, there were many lines leading up to the area along the main shrine for paying respects by bowing twice, clapping twice, making small donation (if you like), then bowing once more. During this procedure, it wasn’t uncommon to notice people making short prayers.

After paying my respects, and wandering about the area a bit, I happen to come across something that is supposedly quite rare in the area, a wedding procession. This glimpse to me was quite a treat as the colors and dress were something rather unique to me at this point, and seemed to be a perfect place to take witness.