MEIJI SHRINE
100 year anniversary

Most popular shine in Japan Enshrined: Emperor Meiji andEmpress Shoken Foundation: 1920
 Area: 730,000m2 (180 acre) (1/5of Central park NY)

 Festival: National Foundation Day

festival (Feb.11), Empress Shoken
Memorial Ceremony (April 11)
Spring Grand Festival (May 2),
Emperor Meiji Memorial
Ceremony (July 30), Autumn
Grand Festival (Nov.1)

 Visitors: 10 million per year,

3million during first three days innew year 3 November 1852 – 30 July 1912 (Enthroned 3February 1867)

 Proclaimed restoration of Imperial rule at the endof Tokugawa shogunate, and move residence toTokyo (renamed from Edo) (1868).

 Enacted the Constitution of the Empire of Japan

provided for a form of mixed constitutional andabsolute monarchy, the Emperor of Japan was
the supreme leader and the Prime Minister was
the actual head of government.

 Promoted the Meiji Restoration adopting westernideas and production methods.

 Grave: Fushimi Momoyama Mausoleum (Kyoto) Great or Second Torii Gate : Torii-gate

representing the boundary between seculararea and sacred area. People makes mental
purification through the torii.

 The largest wooden torii in Japan: height 12meters, width 17.1 meters, diameter of pillar
1.2 meters, weight 13 metric tons (KumanoHongu Taisha Shrine, H 33.9 W 42 Reinforcedconcrete Torii)

 Original one was build in 1920 destroyed bylightning in 1966 and rebuilt in 1975 by 1,500year-old Japanese cypress grown in Taiwan

 Imperial chrysanthemum emblem (ImperialSeal of Japan ): Crest of Emperor, 16-petal
chrysanthemum with another row of petals
showing behind the first row.

 Forest is covered by an evergreen trees thatconsists of 120,000 trees of 365 different
species, which were donated by people
from all parts of Japan and transplanted byhand by roughly 110,000 volunteers.
 The three men responsible for creating theforest were Seiroku Honda, who designed
Hibiya Park, Takanori Hongo, who also
worked on the park, and Keiji Uehara, whobecame known as a pioneer of modern
Japanese landscape gardening. Theirfundamental plan for the shrine forest wasthat it should continue for eternity.
 To accomplish that, it would need to becreated just like a natural forest, broad-leaf
evergreens like chinquapin, live oak, andcamphor.

 Hand washing Basin: Simple act ofphysical purification before
approaching the main sanctuary

 Rinse your left hand, rinse yourright hand. Pour water into yourleft hand and rinse your mouth.
Rinse your left hand. Rinse thedipper.

 Harae dono: Purification Site,

Shinto priests make purification
before important Shinto
ceremony including Tsukinamisai: at 9 am on the 1st and 15thof each month Third Torii Gate and Minami Shinmon,

Main Gate (South gate): the mostimportant of the three gates that open
onto the main shrine complex.
 The two-story gate made fromJapanese cypress, roofed with copper,
was built in 1920 when the shrine wasdedicated, and is one of the few
structures to have survived the air raidsof World War II.
 Small heart-shaped patterns carved
into the ornamental metal fittings This iscalled “inome” meaning of eye of thewild boar, considered to protect fromfire.

 About 60 Shinto priests are working in Meijishrine Rank of priests can be distinguished bycolor of Hakama, a kind of a divided
pleated skirt.

 Dark green or white without crest: trainee
 Pale blue-green: 3rd or 4th grade Purple : 2nd grade Purple with white crest: upper 2nd grade Purple with purple crest : 1st grade White with white crest : supreme grade Inner garden; The place wasoriginally a garden of villa of Ii familyhigh ranking feudal clan, chief
minister of Tokugawa shogunate.

 The garden was once Imperial

Property in Meiji era and wascommissioned by Emperor Meiji inpart for Empress Shoken.

 Empress Shoken loved this garden

particularly at hana-shubu(Japanese Iris) garden and fishing atthe pond.

 The honden, main shrine is the most sacredbuilding in the Meiji shrine.

 The honden built from Japanese cypress

wood, while the roofs are clad with copper.
The timber used is mainly from Kiso in
Nagano Prefecture.

 The main shrine building was originallycompleted in 1920, but was burnt down
during the air raids at the end of World War II.
The present building was completed in 1958.

 How to pray in front of shrine building: Youmay put some coins into the offertory box.
Bow twice, clap your hands twice and bow
once again.

 Ema, or votive tablets, are wooden plaqueswith a picture specific to the shrine on one
side, and a blank space for writing a messageof gratitude or prayer on the other.

 They are available at the juyosho amulet

office for ¥ 500 and decorated with either a
Meiji Jingu crest or, over the New Year period,
the zodiac animal for that year.

 The word ema literally means ‘picture of ahorse’ and dates back to ancient times when
devotees would donate horses to shrines.

 Over time pictures of horses came to replace

actual horses, and further developed into theema of today.

 Kaguraden, Hall of Shinto music anddance.

 Devotees can receive blessings orparticipate in Shinto rituals.

 To bless baby’s first shrine visit and achild’s shichi-go-san, a celebratory
occasion held in November for girls
turning three or seven and boys turningfive.

 The building was completed in 1993 andhas three floors, two of themunderground. The main ceremony hall on
the ground level can accommodate up
to 800 people.

 Kurumabarai: Vehicle Purification
 Shrine priest performs a ritual toward off bad luck, and pray for safe
driving free of accidents.

 Imperial Seal of Government Seal

 Seal of Tokugawa

 Chrysanthemum

 Paulownia crest

 Mitsuba-aoi crest

Japancrestof Japan(Empress tree)

Shogunate clan

(Three Leaves ofHollyhock)