Meiji Shrine

Narazaki Eisho's 1932 woodblock print depicts the Meiji Shrine, Tokyo's most important Shinto sanctuary, dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Completed in 1920, the shrine complex occupies a vast forested park in the heart of the city, its approach lined with towering cryptomeria and camphor trees that create a sense of deep forest just minutes from urban streets. The massive torii gate at the entrance frames the transition from city to sacred precinct. Narazaki would have captured the shrine during its first decade of existence, when the surrounding trees were still relatively young and the complex was a symbol of modern Japan's reverence for its recent imperial past. The 1932 date coincides with a period of intensified nationalism in Japan, giving any depiction of the Meiji Shrine additional patriotic resonance.