Meiji Jingu Shrine is one of Tokyo’s most popular shrines (神社, Jinja), located within a lush jungle that spans 70 hectares. The shrine is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji (明治天皇, Meiji-tennō), the first Emperor of modern Japan after the Edo Period (1603-1867, 江戸時代, Edo-jidai), and his wife, Empress Shōken.
The jungle consists of more than 120,000 trees, that includes trees from all of the 47 prefectures around Japan. It is the most visited shrine in Japan for hatsumode (初詣, Hatsumōde, First shrine visit of the year), with over 3 million people in the first three days of the year. It is also rather common for wedding ceremonies to be held at the shrine on weekends.
During the approach to the shrine from Harajuku Station, you will find a section with walls of painted nihonshu (日本酒, Japanese rice wine) barrels stacked up on the right side, and an equivalent section of walls on the left side that have been filled with burgundy wine. In the Shinto (神道, Shintō) religion, it is thought that by drinking sake, people get closer to the gods. Thus, barrels of sake are donated to the shrine by sake brewers across Japan and consumed at special occasions like rituals and festivals. The barrels that are on display are empty barrels that have already been consumed. The barrels of burgundy wine were also donated by France, because of Emperor Meiji’s fondness for wine.
