Looking up at the Otorii gate at Yasukuni Shrine, I saw the moon floating beyond it

Otorii gate of Yasukuni Shrine and moon — Otorii and the moon at Yasukuni Jinja Shrine

The history of Yasukuni Jinja Shrine, which seems to have a long history because of the chrysanthemum crest on the shrine grounds, is not that old, having been built in 1869 by the new Meiji government to pray for the souls of the war dead of the Boshin War. Aside from its authenticity, it is incomparable to Shimogamo Jinja Shrine in Kyoto, which is said to have been built around the 3rd century.

In the "Kudan Ushigafuchi" painted by Katsushika Hokusai around 1800, there is only a deformed Kudan-zaka (slope), but the large torii gate of Yasukuni Shrine is nowhere to be seen, and there is no shrine-like structure in this place even if you look at the map of the end of the Edo period. The approach to Yasukuni Shrine seems to have been a training ground for archers and horses. At the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it was used as an infantry post, and the Shogitai trained at this place in preparation for the general attack on Edo Castle.

After the Meiji Restoration, when the present Yasukuni Shrine was built, the training ground for archers and horses was transformed into a horse race track, where the first Western-style horse races were held by the Japanese. It is hard to believe that the army-sponsored horse races used to be held on this approach. So I looked up at the Otorii gate and saw the moon hovering just beyond the torii gate.

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