Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine, built in the early 1900s, is dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji presided over Japan’s modernization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The dense forest that encompasses the complex of Shinto shrines offers respite from the bustle of surrounding Tokyo.
Visiters walk over a stone bridge in the forest surrounding Meiji Shrine.
Empty sake bottles donated by brewers throughout Japan are bound and stacked near the shrine. Sake is used in certain Shinto rites, and shrines often use the empty bottles as decoration.
A bride and groom walk through Meiji Shrine during a traditional Shinto wedding. During the ceremony, the bride and groom and the wedding party drink sake to signify the union.
Visitors to the shrine walk through a huge torii, or gate, at the shrine’s entrance. The gate symbolizes the beginning of a sacred space.