was a

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

shrine located on the island of

Koror Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island (also ''Oreor Island''). It is Palau’s most populous state. History In the oral tradition of ...

, in

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

. The shrine was the ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese language, Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a Provinces of Japan, province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth.''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retr ...

'' (highest ranking shrine) of the government of the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

, a

League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate represented a legal status under international law for specific territories following World War I, involving the transfer of control from one nation to another. These mandates served as legal documents establishing th ...

d territory administered by the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. It was established in 1940 and designated for the veneration of Amaterasu-Ōmikami.Peattie, Mark R. (1988)
''Nanʻyō: the rise and fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 1885–1945,'' p. 226.
/ref>

History

The process which led to the establishment of the shrine began mid-1930s when the regional planning agency (''Nan'yō Takushoku'') was charged with the Japanization of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

. The chief advocate for the shrine was Domoto Teiichi, who had been the Private Secretary to the Governor of the South Seas Mandate since 1936. The enshrinement ceremonies took three days, November 1–3, 1940 ('' Showa 15, 1st–3rd day of the 11th month''). The shrine was situated at Koror because it was the Japanese colonial capital. From the outset, the Nan'yō Shrine was officially designated one of the ''Kanpei-taisha'' (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government-supported shrines. The shrine was construed by the Japanese government as marking "a step forward in the sacred task of constructing a New East Asian Order." When Allied forces threatened Palau in late 1944, the ''

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

'' and sacred symbols of the shrine were evacuated to Japan by submarine. The shrine remained untouched by American bombing, but Japan's defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

ended its administration. The shrine was dismantled for use in rebuilding Koror. Only the stone steps to the upper platform and stone lanterns remain.Peattie
p. 339 n61.
/ref> In 1983, plans were developed for a reconstruction of the shrine at its former site, and a miniature replica of the original shrine was completed with the funding of private sponsors from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1993.南洋神社

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

, September 21, 2009

Notes

References

* Guichard-Anguis, Sylvie and Okpyo Moon. (2009). ''Japanese Tourism and Travel Culture.'' London: Taylor & Francis. * Peattie, Mark R. (1988). ''Nan'yō: the Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 1885–1945.'' Honolulu :

University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. ; Kanpei Taisha Religion in Palau Shinto shrines in the Japanese colonial empire Japan–Palau relations Religious organizations established in 1940 Religious buildings and structures completed in 1940 Religious organizations disestablished in 1944 South Seas Mandate 20th-century Shinto shrines Shinmei shrines Shinmei-zukuri {{Authority control

History

See also

Notes

References