Yasuni Shrine - the First Torii — Local services in Tokyo

The First Torii – Gateway to Memory

On 1 August 2025, as I approached Yasukuni Shrine on the path toward the Yūshūkan Museum, the First Torii (Ōtorii) stood as the first and most commanding monument before me. Rising nearly 25 meters high and 34 meters wide, its sheer size arrested my attention even before stepping through. Unlike the familiar wooden torii of other shrines, this one is forged entirely of steel, a decision made in 1921, when Japan projected itself as a modern power at the height of its imperial era.

The torii was more than just a gate; it was a statement of permanence. Passing beneath it, I felt that I was crossing from the ordinary streets of Tokyo into a carefully constructed realm of memory, where every step is designed to remind visitors of sacrifice, loyalty, and the collective spirit of the nation. The fact that this steel gate survived the bombings of Tokyo in 1945 gives it an almost indestructible aura — a monument that has outlasted empires, governments, and even the lives of those it was meant to honor.

It struck me that the First Torii is not neutral. Built during an era when the state bound Shinto to nationalism, it carries with it the weight of contested history. For some, it represents reverence for the war dead; for others, it symbolizes the darker legacy of militarism. Yet for every visitor walking toward Yūshūkan, it is inescapably the first marker of remembrance, framing the shrine’s narrative long before one encounters its halls, exhibits, or memorial stones.

As I paused beneath its shadow, I realized that the First Torii does not only frame an entrance — it frames interpretation. It sets the tone for everything that follows inside Yasukuni. Whether one walks with reverence, curiosity, or unease, the experience begins here, under the steel crossbeam that has stood for more than a century.

Thus, on that day in August 2025, the First Torii was not only the first structure I encountered but also the first lesson: that Yasukuni Shrine is as much about how Japan remembers as it is about what...

現在の鳥居は大正10年のものに次ぐ2代目で昭和49年の再建。靖国神社HPによると柱の高さ25ｍ直径2.5ｍ、笠木の長さ34ｍ直径2.7ｍメートル、重さ100ｔ、耐候性鋼で作られ耐用年数1200年とのこと。このように柱と笠木が円柱状で柱の転びもなく貫が柱を貫通しない鳥居を靖国鳥居という。 靖国神社は天皇に忠義を尽くして戦死した英霊を祀る元別格官幣社。祭神は2座で皇族の戦死者北白川宮能久親王（台湾神宮の祭神）と北白川宮永久王（蒙疆神社の祭神）で１座、臣下からはA級戦犯東条英機以下246万6千余柱で１座であり、天皇の勅使の御幣物も二箱となっている。（他に勅祭社は明治神宮や朝鮮神宮など） 天皇への忠死が祀られる条件のため原爆や空襲の死者は犬死として祀られない。付属の遊就館では大東亜戦争をアジア解放の聖戦とするなど反東京裁判史観、歴史修正主義で埋め尽くされている。敗戦後GHQは当社を国民を戦争に駆り立てることを目的とした軍国主義神社と危険視し廃止を含めて検討したが国家と完全に分離した宗教法人となることで存続を許された。（宗教色を除いた靖国廟として国営化する案もあった）しかし国家神道復活をもくろむ神社本庁など宗教右派勢力は今も靖国国家護持や公式参拝を訴えるなどしており靖国問題に解決...

A huge Torii thats welcomes you in the city, which is at the entrance of Yasukuni shrine. You can notice it even when you are farther and it serves as a great...