Meiji Jingu Publishes Monumental Five-Volume History for Its 100th Anniversary

Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward celebrated the 100th anniversary of its enshrinement in November 2020. Now, it is publishing a monumental five-volume series titled The Complete Meiji Jingu (compiled by Meiji Jingu, published by Yoshikawa Kobunkan).

The first volume, Essays (1): Meiji and Prayer, was released in October 2025. It brings together 50 essays and contributions, including one by Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko of Mikasa. Through these writings, it examines the Meiji era and the deities Meiji Jingu enshrines, Emperor Meiji and Empress Dowager Shoken. It also explores the prayers of generations of worshippers from multiple perspectives.

The findings from this volume and the forthcoming second installment will form the scholarly foundation for the third volume, A Hundred-Year History. According to the Shrine, the project aims to create "a chronicle unlike any before."

Tradition and Innovation

Director Hiroyasu Hirose described Meiji Jingu as "a shrine born from the bold idea of creating sacred space within Tokyo's urban core." He pointed out that the Meiji Kinenkan, once a constitutional memorial before the war, later became a wedding venue. The same balance of continuity and change, he said, guides the new publication. "We want this history to honor tradition while embracing new perspectives suited to our time."

The shrine took shape through the voices of Tokyo citizens. Following Emperor Meiji's passing, they petitioned for his mausoleum to be built in the capital. Their wish took shape with the enshrinement ceremony on November 1, 1920.

The sacred forest, planted on what was once barren land, was envisioned as a living legacy stretching 150 years into the future. Around 100,000 trees were donated from across Japan. More than 110,000 young volunteers contributed their labor, making Meiji Jingu a creation rooted not only in Tokyo but in the hearts of people nationwide.

To prepare for this new chronicle, the shrine established the Centennial Compilation Office in 2015, five years before the shrine's centennial. Full-scale editing beginning in 2022.

*Hiroyasu Hirose, Director of the Meiji Jingu Centennial Compilation Office, discusses The Complete Meiji Jingu (©Sankei by Mitsuhiro Uno).*

Previously Unpublished Materials

The first volume is divided into six sections. These include Meiji Studies, Emperor Meiji, Empress Dowager Shoken, Rituals and Faith, Imperial Poetry, and Social Activities.

Opening the collection, Her Imperial Highness Princess Akiko of Mikasa contributed an essay titled 'Court Culture in the Meiji Era.' Through the lens of incense culture (shokosui), which flourished during that period, she explores how the Imperial Court adopted and preserved new cultural forms amid Japan's rapidly changing society.

Other scholars examine the Meiji era from a variety of perspectives, including constitutional thought and diplomacy. Professor Teruomi Yamaguchi of the University of Tokyo Graduate School traces how Natsume Soseki's Kokoro came to symbolize "the end of the Meiji era" in modern literary discourse. Author Makate Asai, known for her novel Rakuyo depicting the founding of Meiji Jingu, contributes an essay titled 'The Story of the Meiji Era.'

Seventeen chapters are dedicated to the lives and achievements of Emperor Meiji and Empress Dowager Shoken.

Faith and Continuity

According to Director Hirose, the Rituals and Faith section draws on previously unreleased materials, including data from prayer ceremonies for worshippers and surveys from Shichi-Go-San shrine visits. Shichi-Go-San (literally "Seven-Five-Three") is a traditional rite of passage in Japan. Parents bring children aged three, five, and seven to shrines to pray for their healthy growth.

Another essay, contributed by Nobutake Takatsukasa, grandson of Shinsuke Takatsukasa, Meiji Jingu's fifth chief priest. Shinsuke Takatsukasa guided the shrine through its postwar reconstruction. In his essay, Nobutake reflects on his grandfather's experience during the 1945 air raid that destroyed the main sanctuary.

The Social Activities section highlights Meiji Jingu's role as a stage for preserving traditional performing arts. It draws on extensive data that the team compiled on regional folk performances dedicated at the shrine. "It's an area that had rarely been studied in depth before," notes Hirose.

Linking Scholarship to History

A volume of the Complete Meiji Jingu will be published annually each October through 2029. Following the inaugural volume, the series continues with Essays (2): The Sacred Forest and Civilization, A Hundred-Year History, Chronology and Documents, and Dictionary of People and Organizations.

Volume 2 opens with an essay by Her Imperial Highness Princess Hisako of Takamado, titled 'The Beauty of the Forest Seen Through Birds — and the Japanese View of Nature.'

Explaining why A Hundred-Year History will appear as Volume 3, researcher Hiroyuki Tonami of the Compilation Office noted: "The framework of the history is already in place. However, the first two essay volumes are producing new insights. Our task now is to weave those findings into the main historical narrative."

Each volume of The Complete Meiji Jingu is priced at ¥17,600 JPY ($120 USD). They are available through bookstores or directly from Yoshikawa Kobunkan (Tel: 03-3813-9151).