Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine in the heart of Tokyo dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, the imperial couple who presided over Japan's remarkable transformation from feudal nation to modern state during the Meiji era (1868–1912). Completed in 1920 and rebuilt after World War II destruction, the shrine sits within a vast forested sanctuary of roughly 70 hectares — an almost surreal pocket of stillness in one of the world's most restless cities. Over 100,000 trees donated from across Japan were planted when the shrine was founded, and that forest has matured into something genuinely cathedral-like, the canopy filtering light and noise in equal measure before you even reach the main buildings.
Religious Place