Shinto in Taiwan has its origins in the beginning of the 50-year
Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan in 1895 when the
Empire of Japan brought their
state religion,
Shinto, to the island. The
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan (Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, r ...
were encouraged to adopt the religion in 1937 as the
Empire of Japan began to intensify its
expansionist policy in
China and used
Taiwan as its base into southeast Asia. Of the Taiwanese who lost their lives fighting for the Japanese Emperor until the Empire's defeat in 1945, a total of 27,863 are recorded in the ''Book of Souls'' and enshrined as in
Yasukuni Shrine in
Tokyo,
Japan.
Japanese colonial rule
Between 1919-1936, the
colonial government in Taiwan began compulsory education of Taiwanese and emphasized
cultural assimilation. In 1937, the Japanese Empire in Taiwan began the , a policy of converting and fully integrating the Taiwanese as Japanese citizens.
This was to be achieved by denying the Taiwanese of their Chinese heritage through the adoption of
Japanese name
in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, in that order. Nevertheless, when a Japanese name is written in the Roman alphabet, ever since the Meiji era, the official policy has been to cater to Western expect ...
s and through use of the
Japanese language as their ; adopting Japanese aspects of life such as
Japanese clothing,
Japanese cuisine, and
Shinto. The use of Chinese dialects and practice of Chinese customs were discouraged and Chinese-language schools were closed. The Japanese sought to convert the aborigines by promoting the story of
Sayon as a patriotic Taiwanese.
Shinto shrines
The first Shinto shrine to be established in Taiwan was the Kaizan Shrine in
Tainan Prefecture
was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Tainan City, Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Yunlin County.
Population
Administrative divisions
Cities and districts
In 194 ...
in 1897 but the most notable was the
Taiwan Shrine in
Taihoku Prefecture
Taihoku Prefecture (台北州; ''Taihoku-shū'') was an administrative division of Taiwan created in 1920, during Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Yilan County. Its government office, ...
(now
Taipei) which was built in 1901 to honor
Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa
of Japan, was the second head of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family. He was formerly enshrined in Tainan-Jinja, Taiwan, under the name ''Kitashirakawa no Miya Yoshihisa-shinnō no Mikoto'' as the main and only deity.
Biograp ...
who died from illness whilst on a mission in Tainan to subjugate the Taiwanese rebellion. In 1932, Crown Prince
Hirohito (later Shōwa Emperor) visited Taiwan on a tour to celebrate his inauguration as regent. In total, 204 Shinto shrines were built throughout Taiwan, but only 66 were officially sanctioned by the state. After
World War II, many of the Shinto shrines were torn down by the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
from
mainland China, while others were replaced by martyr's shrines.
In modern times, two Shinto shrines were rebuilt:
Gaoshi Shrine and
Luye Shrine. Only Gaoshi Shrine is still active, while Luye Shrine is not used to venerate any kami.
See also
*
List of Shinto shrines in Taiwan
On June 17, 1895 ( Meiji 28), Taiwan came under the rule of the Empire of Japan. In the following year on December 3, 1896, the first Shinto shrine was created in Taiwan. This was actually an already existing located in Tainan but renamed .
...
*
Taiwan under Japanese rule
The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The sho ...
*
Political divisions of Taiwan (1895-1945)
The Republic of China (Taiwan) is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, there is a significant difference in the ''de jure'' system set out in the original constitution and the ''de ...
*
Governor-General of Taiwan
The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945.
The Jap ...
*
Formosan Army
*
Tenrikyo
is a Japanese new religion which is neither strictly monotheistic nor pantheistic, originating from the teachings of a 19th-century woman named Nakayama Miki, known to her followers as "Oyasama". Followers of Tenrikyo believe that God of Origi ...
References
External links
Shinto weddings become attractive to Taiwan couples
{{Religion in Taiwan