Site of the Former Japanese Shrine

Site of the Former Japanese Shrine

The site of the former Japanese shrine is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The site of the former Japanese shrine is located at No. 1 Wutai Mountain, Gulou District, Nanjing City, China, east of the Wutai Mountain Sports Center. Originally built by the invading Japanese army as the Nanjing Shrine, modeled after the Tokyo--, it was designed by Takami Ichirō and is the largest of its kind.

Construction began in the spring of 1942 (the 31st year of the Republic of China) and was completed in 1944 (the 33rd year of the Republic of China). The shrine faces south and is a brick-and-wood structure, featuring a column-footed platform base, square exterior colonnades, wide and low hip-and-gable roof, black tiles, apricot-yellow walls, and brown windows—typical elements of traditional Japanese architectural style. Stone lions are preserved intact on both sides of the main and side entrances.

After the victory of the War of Resistance, the shrine was converted into the Memorial Hall for Chinese Soldiers Who Died in the War of Resistance. After the liberation, it was taken over by the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau (formerly the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Commission). The auxiliary buildings of the shrine were gradually demolished, leaving only the main hall and side halls, which are now listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province. They are respectively named “Building No. 1 at Wutai Mountain - 1” and “Building No. 1 at Wutai Mountain - 2”.

“Building No. 1 at Wutai Mountain - 1” is its current name, currently used as office space by the Seventh Construction Company of Jiangsu Construction Engineering Group. Nearby residents refer to it as the “Big Temple.” About 50 meters southeast of this building is a similar structure known as the “Little Temple,” which now serves as the “Home for Veteran Staff of the Sports Bureau.” “This place used to be where the Japanese placed the ashes of soldiers who died during their invasion of China.”

In October 1939, after the establishment of the Japanese “China Expeditionary Army Headquarters” in Nanjing, the Japanese military command began constructing the “Nanjing Shrine,” designing it based on the regulations and format of the Tokyo “--.” In February 1940, two battalions of Japanese soldiers were mobilized to begin construction of the “shrine.” The project took nearly two years to complete and was largely finished by the end of 1941.

“During World War II, the Japanese army built shrines in every occupied area, and the one at Wutai Mountain in Nanjing was the largest shrine they established in China at the time. The soldiers who died in battle in East China were transported to the Qingliangshan Crematorium near Wutai Mountain for cremation, and their ashes were temporarily enshrined and mourned at the Wutai Mountain Shrine before being shipped back to Japan via the Yangtze River,” said Professor Jing Shenghong from the Department of History at the School of Social Development, Nanjing Normal University. The original scale upon completion was several times larger than it is today.

According to records, after the War of Resistance ended, the former Nationalist government transformed it into the “Memorial Hall for Chinese Soldiers Who Died in the War of Resistance.” After the liberation, it has been used as the headquarters of the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau and the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Federation. Currently, only the two main buildings of the shrine remain, while most of the auxiliary structures have been demolished over time. In 2011, these two buildings were listed as cultural relic protection units of Jiangsu Province.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province