Nogi-jinja Shrine (Kyoto City) (乃木神社 (京都市))
Nogi-jinja Shrine is a Shinto shrine located at Fushimi-Momoyama Mausoleum (the mausoleum of the Emperor Meiji) in Fushimi-ku Ward, Kyoto City. It was ranked as a fusha (prefectural shrine) under the old shrine classification system. It enshrines Maresuke NOGI.
The shrine was established in September, 1916. Sanjin MURANO of the Satsuma Domain (Kagoshima Prefecture) successively served as the director of numerous railway companies those in Settsu, Yanyo, Nankai and Keihan Railway Administration Office including Moji Railway Administration Office in Hoshu (north Kyushu region). He attended the funeral of the Emperor Meiji as the representative of Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd. There he was both shocked and moved by the suicide of Maresuke NOGI and his wife. Therefore, on the first anniversary of Maresuke NOGI's death, he resigned from his job and, at his own expense, resolved to inform future generations of the type of man that General Nogi was and how he embodied traditional Japanese loyalty and sacrifice. He aimed to do this by constructing a shrine at the mausoleum of the Emperor Meiji and raising the spirit of the nation. This is the origin of Kyoto's Nogi-jinja Shrine.
Buildings
Sessha (auxiliary shrine (dedicated to a deity close-related to that of a main shrine)) Shizutama-jinja Shrine: Enshrines the spirit of Shizuko NOGI.
Shinmon gate: A large gate said to be made from a single trunk of 3000 year-old Taiwanese hinoki cypress. Maresuke NOGI was the third Governor-General of Taiwan and well-liked by the population who it is said happily cooperated with the felling of the large tree.
Aratama-go and Su-go: Bronze statues of the white horse Su-go, Maresuke NOGI's favorite horse given to him by the Russian General Anatolii Stoessel, and its offspring Aratama-go stand as if guarding the front of the shrine.
Former residence of Maresuke NOGI: When Maresuke NOGI was a child, his father Maretsugu NOGI was a samurai in the service of the Mori clan of Azabu in Edo. This is a reproduction of the house in his father's native Chofu in which the family lived after being driven from Edo and placed under house being confined to their house after his father proposed a reformation of the domain at his master's request that displeased the high ranking retainers.
Museum: A house that was used as the third army headquarters during the Russo-Japanese War and purchased from the owner and relocated to its current site at the time of the shrine's founding. The masonry used is from the original site, and is a highly unique quartzite containing a 'ripple pattern' fossil that is said to have been formed over 500 million years ago.
Treasure hall: Contains artifacts including books hand-written by Maresuke NOGI and letters to his close subordinates and the families who lost relatives in the Russo-Japanese War.
General Nogi monument: Painted by Soho TOKUTOMI on the request of a woman from Osaka who greatly admired Maresuke NOGI who met with General Stoessel when many Russian POWs were transported to Hamadera in Osaka after the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
Azuma (armored cruiser) main anchor: This Azuma armored cruiser was active during the Russo-Japanese War and retired in 1944 but was relocated to its current site to serve as a memorial as a result of the strong desire of former navy veterans from Kyoto Prefecture.
Other: The works of many prominent sculptors are placed at Nogi-jinja Shrine.
Sadayuki GOTO ('Aiba Shisso,' Favorite Horse Sprinting), Sataro KAJI ('Obin Shipoyaki,' Large Cloisonne Vase), Yuichi OGURA (bust of General Nogi), Kanbashi YUZUKI (Su-go and Aratama-go), Akira OTSUKA ('Daigyosen,' Large Fishing Boat), Yasunari FUJIKI (statue of a young Maresuke NOGI polishing rice)
Access
Nara Line Momoyama Station
Kintetsu Kyoto Line Momoyama Goryo-mae Station