Chōsen Jingū

Approach to the former Chōsen Jingū in Seoul

Chōsen Jingū (朝鮮神宮^?) was a Shinto shrine in Korea from 1925 to 1945, during the period of Japanese rule.

Background

After the annexation of Korea in 1910, the Japanese government embarked upon a policy of Japanization. This included worship at Shinto shrines, as much a political expression of patriotism as a religious act.^[1][2] From 1925, school pupils were required to attend Shinto shrines, and in 1935 it became compulsory for university students and government employees to attend Shinto ceremonies.^[3][4] By 1945, there were a total of 1,140 shrines in Korea associated with State Shinto.^[3]

Chōsen Jingū

Chōsen Jingū was erected in 1925 on the peak of Namsan in Seoul and was dedicated to Amaterasu and Emperor Meiji. It was constructed in the shinmei-zukuri style of Ise Jingū.^[5][6] Chōsen Jingū was demolished immediately after Gwangbokjeol in 1945, and in 1970 the 'Patriot An Chung-gun Memorial Hall' was constructed on the site of the former shrine, in honour of An Chung-gun, the assassin of Itō Hirobumi, the first Japanese Resident-General.^[2][7]

See also

• State Shinto
• Korea under Japanese rule
• Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines

References

1. ^ Sung-Gun Kim (1997). "The Shinto Shrine Issue in Korean Christianity under Japanese Colonialism". Journal of Church and State 39: 503. http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=77526112. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Wakabayashi, Ippei. "Ahn Jung-geun and the Cultural Public Sphere". Bunkyo University. http://www.bunkyo.ac.jp/faculty/lib/slib/kiyo/Int/it1901/it190110.pdf. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Grayson, James H. (1993). "Christianity and State Shinto in Colonial Korea: A Clash of Nationalisms and Religious Beliefs". Diskus (British Association for the Study of Religions) 1 (2): 13–30. http://www.basr.ac.uk/diskus/diskus1-6/GRAYSON.TXT. 
4. ^ Wagner, Edward W. et al. (1990). Korea Old and New: A History. Harvard University Press. p. 315. ISBN 0-9627713-0-9. 
5. ^ "Chōsen Jingū". Genbu.net. http://www.genbu.net/haizetu/old/cyousen_title.htm. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
6. ^ Hiura, Satoko (2006). "朝鮮神宮と学校 : 勧学祭を中心に". Japan Society for the Historical Studies of Education (National Institute of Informatics) 49: 110–112. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110006272167. 
7. ^ Keene, Donald (2002). Emperor of Japan: Meiji and his World, 1852-1912. Columbia UP. pp. 664ff.. 

External links

(Japanese) Chōsen Jingū (plan and photographs)