Meiji-Jingu Shrine

This is one of the main Shinto shrines in Tokyo. It was built in 1920 to enshrine and memorialize Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shoken; apparently they were very beloved by the Japanese people. The shrine grounds encompass 175 acres of wooded areas, gardens, ponds, museums, and assorted buildings related to the shrine. It's a popular place to hold weddings and other ceremonies including Shichi-Go-San (described in the next post). While we were there we saw the first part of the Shichi-Go-San ceremony, several wedding processions and a traditional Japanese mini-play. I'm not sure what the play was really about other than it seemed to be a struggle of good vs evil and the two characters on the right seemed to be fighting off the character on the left.