About Meiji Jingu
It is hard to believe that the woods around Meiji Jingu were planted: there are about 120,000 trees of 365 species, donated by people from every region of Japan when the shrine was created. The original building, from 1920, was destroyed in the bombings of World War II; the current one was completed in 1958.
Before the offering hall stands the purification fountain. Wash your left hand, then your right, pour a little water into your cupped hand to rinse your mouth and spit to the side, never into the fountain or straight from the ladle. When it is time to pray, the sequence is coin, two bows, two claps and a final bow. Walk along the sides of the path: the center is reserved for the deities.
