Chosen Shrine: History and Remains of the General Guardian Shrine of the Korean Peninsula during the Japanese Colonial Period
Chosen Shrine (조선신궁) was a Shinto shrine built on Namsan Mountain in Gyeongseong-bu, Gyeonggi-do, Korea (present-day Seoul, South Korea) during the Japanese colonial period. As the only Grand Imperial Shrine on the Korean Peninsula, it served as the general guardian shrine for the entire peninsula. Its magnificent shrine buildings and stone steps, hailed as the finest in the Orient, were representative architectural features of Gyeongseong at the time. However, after Japan’s defeat in 1945, it was dismantled, and only the site remains today.
Overview and Location of Chosen Shrine
Chosen Shrine was built on the slopes of Namsan Mountain, located in the heart of Gyeongseong-bu, at an altitude of approximately 243 meters. Namsan Mountain is located in present-day Jung-gu, Seoul, and is known for the N Seoul Tower. From the shrine grounds, one could enjoy a panoramic view of Gyeongseong city, and it was known for its scenic location.
The shrine held the rank of Kanpei Taisha (Grand Imperial Shrine), the highest rank among the more than 60 shrines built on the Korean Peninsula. Its enshrined deities were Amaterasu Omikami and Emperor Meiji, and it was positioned as a symbol of protection for the Korean Peninsula and the authority of the Imperial family.
The shrine grounds were vast, and the stone steps of the main approach numbered a remarkable 385, earning it the title of “the greatest in the Orient.” These steps became a famous landmark in Seoul, attracting many worshippers and tourists. Records indicate that trees were planted on both sides of the approach, creating a solemn atmosphere within the shrine grounds.
The History and Circumstances of the Founding of the Chosen Shrine
From the Decision to Founding to the Chosen Shrine Era
The founding of the Chosen Shrine was decided on July 18, 1919 (Taisho 8). Initially named “Chosen Shrine,” it was designated a Kanpei Taisha, with Amaterasu Omikami and Emperor Meiji as its enshrined deities. This decision, made nine years after the annexation of Korea in 1910, was part of a policy to establish a shrine as a spiritual pillar of Japanese rule over Korea.
The decision to build the shrine was intended to religiously legitimize Japanese rule over the Korean Peninsula and to instill reverence for the Emperor and Japanese spirit among the inhabitants of the peninsula, including Koreans. 1919 was also the year of the March 1st Independence Movement, and the construction of the shrine was promoted as a measure to strengthen Japanese rule over Korea.
In 1920 (Taisho 9), the shrine grounds were officially designated, and construction began. The total construction cost was initially estimated at 1.5 million yen, but ultimately exceeded 2 million yen. It was an extremely large-scale construction project for its time.
Renaming to Chosen Jingu and Completion
On June 27, 1925 (Taisho 14), the shrine was renamed from “Chosen Jinja” to “Chosen Jingu” by Cabinet Notification No. 6. The name “Jingu” (神宮) is a title used for particularly prestigious shrines such as Ise Jingu and Meiji Jingu, and this name change further elevated the status of shrines on the Korean Peninsula.
Construction took 5 years and 6 months, and was completed in October 1925. On October 15th of the same year, the enshrinement ceremony was held, with Deputy Chief Priest Sonoike dispatched as an imperial envoy. On October 17th, the first annual festival was held with great fanfare, attended by many people including high-ranking officials from the Government-General of Korea, guests from mainland Japan, and Japanese residents in Korea.
The shrine buildings were constructed in the Shinmei-zukuri style, consisting of a main hall, worship hall, and offering hall, and were magnificent structures made entirely of cypress wood. The grounds also included a purification fountain, a Kagura hall, a shrine office, and a treasure hall, providing all the necessary functions of a shrine.
Controversy over the Deities Enshrined at the Korean Shrine
During the founding process of the Korean Shrine, a significant controversy arose regarding its enshrined deities. This is known as the “Controversy over the Deities Enshrined at the Korean Shrine.”
In the spring of 1925, the Shinto world proposed that “the gods of the Korean land should be enshrined.” Shiro Takamatsu, who was slated to become the chief priest, also advocated for the enshrinement of the “national spirit deity.” The national spirit deity refers to the indigenous spirit of a particular land, and in the case of the Korean Peninsula, it meant the national deity of Korea.
Behind this argument was the Shinto belief that for a shrine to become rooted in the community, it is important to enshrine the gods of that land. Furthermore, it is thought that there was also a practical judgment that adding a deity unique to Korea would be effective in stimulating the faith of Koreans.
However, the authorities, including the Government-General of Korea, completely rejected this proposal. This was because they intended to clearly demonstrate the authority of the Emperor in governing Korea by enshrining only Amaterasu Omikami and Emperor Meiji, deities directly connected to the Japanese Imperial Family. Ultimately, the enshrined deities remained the same as originally planned: Amaterasu Omikami and Emperor Meiji.
This controversy symbolically illustrated the issue of deity selection in overseas shrines. At its core lay the fundamental question of whether colonial shrines should be accepted by the local community or function as symbols of governance.
Shrine Management and Annual Festivals
The annual festival of the Chosen Jingu Shrine was held every year on October 17th, a grand ceremony attended by high-ranking officials of the Government-General, military leaders, and representatives of Japanese residents in Korea. Imperial envoys were sometimes dispatched to the festival, demonstrating the shrine’s high status.
The operation of the shrine required substantial expenses, which were covered by subsidies from the Government-General of Korea, donations from Japanese residents and corporations, and offerings from worshippers. The chief priest and other Shinto priests were permanently stationed there, handling daily rituals and attending to worshippers.
During the Showa period, the Chosen Shrine became known as a representative tourist attraction in Seoul. Its magnificent views from the grounds, well-maintained approach, and majestic shrine buildings attracted tourists and inspection teams from mainland Japan. Numerous postcards and photo collections were published, making the Chosen Shrine widely known.
Encouragement and Coercion of Shrine Visits and the Movement to Refuse Shrine Visits
At shrines on the Korean Peninsula, including the Chosen Shrine, Koreans were encouraged to visit. Especially in the late 1930s, after the start of the Sino-Japanese War, shrine visits were strongly promoted as part of the “Imperial Subjectification” policy.
Schools regularly conducted group visits for students, and government offices and companies encouraged their employees to visit shrines. The trend of considering refusing to visit a shrine as unpatriotic intensified, effectively becoming coercion. Towers containing the “Oath of Imperial Subjects” were erected at shrines throughout the country, and Koreans were forced to recite the oath, “We are subjects of the Imperial nation.”
In response, a movement to refuse shrine visits emerged, particularly among Christians. Those who refused to visit shrines argued that Christian faith and shrine worship were incompatible. However, the authorities forced people to visit shrines, claiming that it was a national ritual rather than a religious practice, and those who refused were suppressed.
Many Christian schools were forced to close, and pastors and believers were imprisoned. This issue reveals the dark side of religious policy during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and demonstrates the suppression of Korean national sentiment and freedom of religion.
Post-War Dismantling and Current Status of Sites
With Japan’s defeat on August 15, 1945, the fate of the Korean shrines changed dramatically. After the end of Japanese rule, shrines on the Korean Peninsula came to be viewed negatively as symbols of Japanese imperialism.
Records indicate that the torii gate of the Chosen Shrine was dismantled on July 3, 1945. Newspapers such as the *Dong-A Ilbo* published photographs of the dismantling, but these are difficult to discern from existing digital data.
The towers containing the “Oath of Imperial Subjects,” located throughout the shrine grounds, were demolished, and the hundreds of thousands of oaths stored there were recycled at the former Keijo Prison (now the Seoul Western District Court and Prosecutor’s Office). The shrine buildings were also gradually dismantled, and the building materials were either repurposed or discarded.
Currently, the site of the Chosen Shrine is part of Namsan Park, and there are no clear signs or monuments indicating the shrine’s former existence. While some of the stone steps of the approach to the shrine are said to remain, anything indicating its connection to the shrine has been removed.
The area around the former site is now a popular recreational area for Seoul residents, and many people visit it as a hiking trail to N Seoul Tower. However, few people know that the largest shrine on the Korean Peninsula once stood there.
Historical Significance and Evaluation of the Chosen Shrine
The Chosen Shrine was a symbolic structure representing Japan’s colonial rule policies. Its grand scale and high status showcased Japan’s authority in governing Korea, but at the same time, it was a symbol of national humiliation for Koreans.
From the perspective of the overseas expansion of State Shinto, the Chosen Shrine, along with the Taiwan Shrine and the Karafuto Shrine, is an important example. The policy of constructing shrines in colonies and occupied territories and forcing local residents to worship, thereby attempting spiritual control, violated the principles of religious freedom and national self-determination.
In post-war historical research, overseas shrines, including the Chosen Shrine, have been critically evaluated as demonstrating the religious aspects of Japan’s imperialistic expansionist policies. The forced worship of shrines suppressed Korean national consciousness and freedom of religion, and is recognized as a negative legacy of colonial rule.
On the other hand, from the perspective of architectural and urban history, the Chosen Shrine was a magnificent structure that combined the technology and resources of the time, and was an important element in shaping the urban landscape of Seoul. Photographs and postcards documenting its appearance are valuable historical documents that provide insight into Seoul at that time.
In present-day South Korea, how to handle the legacy of the Japanese colonial era is a complex issue. The lack of a monument or explanatory plaque at the site of the Joseon Shrine illustrates the difficulty of this issue. There is also the argument that, in order to remember history and learn from it, it is important to properly record and pass on to future generations, including the negative legacies.
Comparison with Related Overseas Shrines
Similar overseas shrines to the Joseon Shrine include the Taiwan Shrine (founded in 1901, a Grand Imperial Shrine) and the Karafuto Shrine (founded in 1910, later elevated to Karafuto Shrine). These shrines were also positioned as the guardian shrines of the Japanese-ruled territories, and enshrined Amaterasu Omikami and Emperor Meiji as their deities.
Numerous other shrines were built on the Korean Peninsula besides the Joseon Shrine. In Seoul, there were the Keijo Shrine (a National Shrine of the lower rank), Namdaemun Shrine, and Yongsan Shrine, and shrines were also established in various regional cities. These shrines served as places of worship for Japanese people residing in Korea, and also as centers for the Japanization policy against Koreans.
Numerous shrines, including the Jianguo Shrine, were also built in Manchukuo (present-day northeastern China), but these were also dismantled after the defeat in the war. Many overseas shrines disappeared after the war, and today only the sites remain, or even traces can no longer be found.
Materials and Research on Chosen Jingu Shrines
Primary sources concerning Chosen Jingu Shrines include official documents of the Government-General of Korea, records of the Association of Shinto Shrines, newspaper articles from the time, photographs, and postcards. Kyoto University and the National Archives of Japan hold valuable materials, some of which are publicly available as digital archives.
In terms of research, works such as Tetsuto Aoi’s “Colonial Shrines and Imperial Japan” (Yoshikawa Kobunkan) and Michio Nakajima’s “Landscape Transformation of Overseas Shrine Sites” discuss the history and significance of overseas shrines, including Chosen Jingu Shrines. Research by Korean scholars is also progressing, analyzing Chosen Jingu Shrines from the perspective of colonial religious policy and urban history.
Postcards and photographic materials are valuable visual resources that provide insight into the appearance of the Joseon Shrine at the time. Postcards and photographs related to the Joseon Shrine are sometimes traded on auction sites, attracting the interest of collectors and researchers.
Summary
The Joseon Shrine played a politically and religiously significant role in the Korean Peninsula during the Japanese colonial period. It held the highest rank of Kanpei Taisha (Grand Imperial Shrine) and was positioned as the guardian shrine of the entire Korean Peninsula. However, its construction and operation were part of colonial rule, giving it complex meaning for Koreans.
The magnificent shrine buildings and 385 stone steps built on the slopes of Namsan Mountain were a representative landscape of Seoul at the time, but they were dismantled after Japan’s defeat in 1945, and only the site remains today. The history of the Joseon Shrine can be said to symbolize the complex history of modern East Asia, encompassing Japan’s overseas expansion and colonial rule, the overseas expansion of State Shinto, and the post-war historical settlement.
In order to correctly understand history and avoid repeating past mistakes, it is important to record, research, and pass on the history of overseas shrines, including the Chosen Shrine, to future generations.
