Meiji Shrine was built to enshrine the deified Emperor Meiji and his wife, the Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji is one of the most famous emperors in Japanese history. He was in power during the opening of Japan following Matthew Perry's contact and during the Meiji Restoration, which was the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and a time when Japan rapidly westernized and adopted new technologies.
The Imperial Line is fabled to be descended from the goddess Amaterasu. Since the start of Japanese recorded history the Emperor has been seen as a god and the Empress as a goddess. Even now many people think of their monarchs as gods and goddesses on earth.
As for the Shrine itself, it was the favorite part of my day. In the midst of the busy orientation schedule, and the insanely busy city of Tokyo, it is like a distant forest totally removed from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Adrianne and I basically walked around for an hour going "Oo, ahh, I feel so nice to be here."
See some more pictures from my trip to Meiji Shrine
3 comments:
That's a favorite place of mine, too - especially in contrast with Harajuku Station, it's kind of like this weird oasis of calm.
When you settle in to life in Tottori, try to get out to Izumo Taisha in Shimane. It's about a 2 hour-ish drive from Nambu-cho (a little more involved if you take the train, but it can be done by starting out in Yonago). It's one of the main shrines of Shinto (along with Ise and...someplace else), and in October all the kami are said to congregate there (thus, the traditional name for jugatsu is "kaminakitsuki" - month without kami). Actually, October would probably be a good time to go - there are probably some events worth checking out then.
Love the pics, you are looking good after recovery from the long flight. Miss you, love, Mum
Beautiful. Wish I could have been there! How's the jet lag?
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