Meiji Jingu

Meiji Jingu is a major Shinto shrine in Tokyo, set within a large forested precinct beside Harajuku and Yoyogi. The shrine is dedicated to the enshrined souls of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. It was established after their deaths and formally completed in 1920.

The surrounding forest was deliberately created with about 100,000 trees donated from across Japan and planted with the aim of developing a self-sustaining woodland. Most of the shrine buildings were destroyed in air raids in 1945, while the forest survived; the principal structures were rebuilt and the restored shrine was completed in 1958.

Meiji Jingu is therefore both a twentieth-century religious foundation and an important example of modern shrine-building, landscape planning and public participation. It remains an active place of Shinto worship, hosting daily rites, seasonal festivals, weddings and one of Japan’s largest New Year worship gatherings.

Visitors enter through large torii and follow long gravel approaches before reaching the central worship area. The shrine museum and inner garden have separate access arrangements from the main free precinct. As an active religious site, quiet conduct around ceremonies and respect for areas closed to the public are appropriate.