高知縣護國神社, Shinto shrine in Kōchi, Japan
Kochi Gokoku Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kochi city that enshrines over 41,000 spirits from Kochi Prefecture, including leaders from the Meiji era and soldiers from past wars. The grounds feature stone pathways, memorial stones, traditional buildings with a main worship hall in the center flanked by smaller structures, and groves of trees surrounding the complex.
In 1868, Tosa domain lord Yamauchi Toyonori established a shrine at Oshima Cape on Mount Godai to enshrine 105 Tosa samurai who died in the Boshin War's eastern campaign. It was named Oshima Cape Shrine the following year. Renamed Shōkonsha in 1875 and Kōchi Prefecture Gokoku Shrine in 1939, it reverted to Oshima Cape Shrine after 1945 and regained its Gokoku name in 1959.
The shrine's name comes from its role as a Gokoku Shrine, a category established in 1939 to honour the war dead of each prefecture. Its main festivals are the Spring Grand Festival on 1–2 April and the Autumn Grand Festival on 1–2 November, with a Spirit Festival on 15 August. Monthly rites are held on the 10th, 20th and 27th, and a memorial service takes place every morning at 7 a.m.
The shrine stands on the Godaisan hill at Oshima Cape, south of central Kochi, and is reached by car or bus rather than on foot from the station. Morning rites are held daily at 7 a.m., and monthly ceremonies fall on the 10th, 20th and 27th. Visitors purify hands and mouth at the temizuya before the main hall.
The shrine's grounds were first laid out in 1868 at Oshima Cape, on the site of present-day Godaisan, by Yamauchi Toyonori, lord of Tosa, to enshrine 105 Tosa retainers who died on the eastern campaign of the Boshin War. The shrine was renamed Shōkonsha in 1875 and became a designated Gokoku Shrine in 1939.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,781 contributors worldwide.