Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社, Yasukuni Jinja?) is a Shinto shrine located in Tokyo, Japan, dedicated to the spirits of soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. In October 2004, its Book of Souls listed the names of 2,466,532 men and women, including 27,863 Taiwanese and 21,181 Koreans, whose lives were dedicated to the service of Imperial Japan, particularly to those killed in wartime.


TThe Yasukuni Shrine was originally constructed in June 1869 by order of the Meiji Emperor to commemorate the victims of the Boshin War. It was at that time one of several dozen such shrines built throughout Japan. Originally named Tōkyō Shōkonsha (東京招魂社), the shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja in 1879 and elevated to become one of the principal shrines associated with State Shinto and the primary national shrine for commemoration of Japan's war dead.

The name Yasukuni, a quotation from Zuo Zhuan (a classical-era Chinese text), literally means "Pacifying the Nation" and was chosen by the Meiji Emperor. The shrine has performed Shinto rites to house the kami (spirits) of all Japanese and former colonial collaborators(Korean and Taiwanese) and civilians who have died for the nation's aggressions until the end of World War II.

After Japan's defeat in World War II, the US-led Occupation Authorities ordered Yasukuni to either become a secular government institution, or a religious institution that is independent from the Japanese government. Yasukuni chose the latter. Since that time, Yasukuni has been privately funded.

Although new names are added to the shrine every year, no new deaths have qualified since Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951. Therefore, the shrine does not include anyone who has died since 1951, including members of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces who have died on duty.


Amulets of Yasukuni Shrine