Meiji Jingu

Meiji Jingu stands in a large wooded park in Shibuya, Tokyo, next to Harajuku Station and Yoyogi Park. It is dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji, who reigned from 1867 to 1912 and led the modernisation of Japan, and his wife Empress Shoken.

The shrine was completed and dedicated in 1920. Its forest was planted by volunteers using more than 100,000 trees donated from across Japan, and it was designed to grow into a self-sustaining natural woodland. The original buildings were destroyed in air raids during the Second World War, and the present shrine was completed in October 1958.

Visitors enter through tall wooden torii gates; the Ootorii, made of cypress from Taiwan and about 12 metres tall, is the largest wooden myojin-style torii in Japan. A gravel path leads past a wall of decorated sake barrels donated by brewers and a row of French wine barrels. The main shrine is built in the nagare-zukuri style, mainly of Japanese cypress and copper. Inside the grounds are the Inner Garden, once visited by the emperor and empress and known for its iris bloom in June, and the Meiji Jingu Museum, opened in 2019 and designed by Kengo Kuma. Traditional Shinto weddings often pass through the courtyard.

Entry to the shrine grounds is free, while the Inner Garden and museum charge separate fees. The shrine is open every day of the year from sunrise to sunset, so the gates open as early as 5 am in May to August and as late as 6:40 am in December and January, and close between 4 pm in December and 6:30 pm in June. Some facilities inside keep shorter hours, mostly 9 am to 4 pm. During the first days of January, Meiji Jingu receives more visitors for hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year, than any other shrine in Japan.