Yasukuni Shrine & Honoring Japan’s Fallen Soldiers

Yasukuni Shrine is Tokyo’s memorial for Japan’s fallen soldiers.  The Shinto Shrine is located in Tokyo’s Chiyoda district.

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Yasukuni Shrine was created in the mid-1800s.  It has the names of close to 2.5 million people and animals; the names include place of death, hometown, and birth dates.  The list starts from the Boshin War to World War II.  In addition, the enshrined people are considered equal regardless of their past lives status.  It’s a pretty cool concept.  Unfortunately, it’s not true in life.

The Yasukuni Shrine grounds

The Shrine attracted me because of the giant torii.  I was heading to the Imperial Palace, which was down the street.  I stumbled upon the Shrine and the giant torii caught my eye.  My initial narcissistic thought was, “omg this would be an awesome Instagram picture.”   Hence, the reason I stopped by.  Hey… If there’s no Instagram picture, then it didn’t happen.  Obviously.

In addition, there are little snack shops along the shrine’s path.  They also sell souvenirs and Japanese note pads.  The Shrine’s attendants are very strict about pictures.  There are no pictures allowed if the camera is pointed directly at the shrine.  Well, I think they didn’t allow me to take pictures cause I was holding an ice cream cone.  Whatever.

Shrine Grounds

The Yasukuni Shrine is very well maintained like other Japanese landmarks.  The Japanese certainly takes the cake when it comes to parks, gardens, shrines, and aesthetics.  There is truly nothing in the world like visiting Japan.  Thank goodness Godzilla is fictional.

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