Nogi Shrine, Shinto shrine in Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan
Nogi Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Akasaka, Minato Ward, Tokyo, entered through a tall, weathered grey stone torii with a small dark plaque on its upper beam. Behind it stands a low wooden shrine pavilion with a dark hipped roof, fronted by a white sign board of vertical Japanese characters and framed by a stone balustrade; a taller inscribed stone pillar rises to the right. The shrine was designed by Ōe Shintarō and rebuilt in 1962 to designs by his son Ōe Hiroshi.
On 13 September 1912, the day of Emperor Meiji's funeral, General Nogi Maresuke and his wife Shizuko took their own lives at their residence here. In 1913 Tokyo mayor Sakatani Yoshirō founded the Chūō Nogi-kai, which enshrined them in a small shrine on the grounds; permission to found Nogi Shrine followed in 1919, and the investiture ceremony was held on 1 November 1923, designed by Ōe Shintarō. The shrine buildings burned in the May 1945 air raids and were rebuilt in 1962 to designs by his son Ōe Hiroshi.
The shrine's name comes from the slope beside it, renamed Nogi-zaka from "Ghost Slope" at the time of the couple's funeral in 1912. Plum-blossom season brings a limited "Baika-mamori" charm, and the grounds include Shomatsu Shrine, founded in 1963 for Yoshida Shoin and Tamaki Bunyoshin, and Akasaka Oji Inari Shrine, founded in 1962.
The shrine can be reached easily through exit 1 of Nogizaka Station on the Chiyoda Line and opens daily from 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The grounds are flat and walkable, allowing visitors to explore the various buildings at a relaxed pace.
The shrine stands on land partly bought from the Kido Koichi estate, and Crown Prince Hirohito granted sweets on the day of the 1923 consecration. The Nogi family graves are not here but in Aoyama Cemetery, where a memorial rite is held on the festival day.
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