Tōgō Shrine Audio Guide

Togo-jinja Shrine: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Togo-jinja Shrine

   Welcome to Togo-jinja Shrine, known in Japanese as 東郷神社. It sits in the middle of Tokyo, in the Harajuku area of Shibuya, within Jingumae, the neighborhood just beside Harajuku Station. The walk from the station takes about three minutes, which makes it one of the easiest places in the capital to step out of the crowds. The shrine honors Togo Heihachiro, an admiral of the Japanese navy, who is revered as a god of victory and of sincerity. Visitors come to pay respects to a man whose lifelong creed was that sincerity reaches the gods. In this guide we will look at how the shrine came to be, how an old feudal estate became its grounds, and why an American admiral held its enshrined hero in such high regard. Then we will look at the lively neighborhood around it.

2. 02

   Togo-jinja Shrine: A Shrine Born from Public Devotion

   Togo-jinja Shrine begins with a death. Togo Heihachiro died on the thirtieth of May, 1934. Soon afterwards, requests poured into the Navy Ministry from across the country, asking for a shrine to honor him, and donations came with them. The Navy Minister of the day, Osumi Mineo, set up a foundation called the Togo Gensui Memorial Association. The money sent in by ordinary people paid for the shrine's creation. In other words, this is a shrine built largely on popular wishes and public contributions rather than on the initiative of a single patron. The shrine was completed in 1940, which makes it young by Japanese shrine standards. The idea behind it is that the admiral's life, guided by the belief that sincerity reaches the gods, should be remembered by later generations. That is why he is honored here as a god of victory and sincerity.

3. 03

   Togo-jinja Shrine: From Feudal Estate to Sacred Ground

   The land under your feet has a story older than the shrine. Before it was sacred ground, this was a private mansion estate of about 20,000 tsubo, a traditional Japanese unit of area. It had belonged since 1862 to Ikeda Yoshinori, the lord of the Tottori domain. His descendant, Marquis Ikeda Nobumasa, the fifteenth head of the Ikeda family of the former Okayama domain, handed about 12,000 tsubo of that private property to the memorial association. That portion became the shrine's grounds. The remaining 8,000 tsubo went another way. Today that land holds the Harajuku Police Station, a Shibuya ward middle school, the Shibuya ward central library and an apartment complex called Park Court Jingumae. Inside that complex is a banquet facility run directly by the shrine, named Ruaru Togo. So a lord's estate has become a shrine, a school, a library and a neighborhood, all within a few minutes' walk of each other.

4. 04

   Togo-jinja Shrine: An Admiral's Admirer from Across the Pacific

   One of the most striking stories connected to Togo-jinja Shrine crosses the Pacific. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz of the United States Navy had a deep respect for Togo. After the Second World War he worked to help preserve Mikasa, Togo's former flagship. He also donated proceeds from the sales of his own book to the shrine. Inside the shrine's administrative office, you will find a letter from Nimitz congratulating the shrine on its rebuilding. There is also a photograph carrying his handwritten message in English, paying tribute to the spirit of Admiral Togo Heihachiro as the greatest naval figure. The shrine also holds a treasured sword that Togo wore, a tachi signed Yoshifusa. Yoshifusa was a swordsmith of the Kamakura period from the Bizen Fukuoka Ichimonji school, famed for a flamboyant wavy blade pattern. The signature is set into the tang like a framed plaque, because the tang was later shortened and only the signed part was kept. If you spot the neighboring Togo Memorial Hall, note that it is run by a separate company and is not part of the shrine.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Togo-jinja Shrine is a calm pause in a district best known for energy. Harajuku's sloping streets are famous as the birthplace of wave after wave of Japanese street style, and nearby Meiji Jingu lies in the greenery of Yoyogi Park. Few places in Tokyo put such different moods within a short walk of each other. As you wander, think about how much layered history one patch of ground can hold: a feudal lord's estate, a nation's wish to honor an admiral, and today's police station, library and school. Notice how the shrine's quiet contrasts with the streets outside. Perhaps the best way to carry the story forward is to ask what sincerity meant to the man honored here, and to see whether you feel it in the stillness of the grounds.