Chinreisha

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Chinreisha (鎮霊社), "The Spirit Pacifying Shrine", is a small wooden side shrine to the controversial shintoistic Yasukuni shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The shrine was built in 1965 after a proposition by Yasukuni's main priest, Fujimaro Tsukuba ([1]). The shrine was closed off to the public in 1975, after an incident the previous year in Hokkaido, where a shrine was put one fire. It was re-opened for worshippers on October 12, 2006.

The shrine consists of two za or seats for the Gods. One is devoted is to all Japanase war dead since 1853, when Commodore Perry compelled Japan to open up to the west. The other one commemorates all war dead, regardless of nationality, i.e. including enemies of Imperial Japan, which stands in contrast to the main Yasukuni shrine which only commemorates war dead who died in the service of Imperial Japan.

[edit] External links

Mainichi MSN article: "靖国神社:32年ぶりに「鎮霊社」一般公開へ". Accessed on 2006-10-11.

Japan Focus. Yasukuni Shrine: Ritual and Memory