Nogi Shrine (乃木神社 Nogi-jinja) is a Shintō shrine located on the grounds of General Nogi's former residence in Akasaka, Minato Ward, Tōkyō, close to Roppongi's Mid-Town Complex. It was established in November 1923 and dedicated to Nogi Maresuke and his wife Shizuko, who took their lives on the day Emperor Meiji was interred. General Nogi is enshrined as a Shintō deity and venerated in several shrines across Japan (in Kyōto , in Shimonoseki, where his family hailed from, in Tochigi , where he served as a commander, and in Saitama). The shrine was destroyed in the Tokyo air raids of 1945 and rebuilt in 1957.

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The main building of general Nogi's residence was built in 1902 and is a spartan wooden structure with a tiled roof. It was modelled on the French military barracks that greatly impressed the general during his two years in Germany. Making skilful use of the sloped terrain, the three-story mansion appears to have only two floors.

After the general's death, the building was donated to Tōkyō. It is open to the public on September 12 and 13, free of charge. It displays General Nogi and his wife's living quarters, including the room where they committed suicide. Next to the mansion is a sturdy brick structure roofed with Japanese tiles, General Nogi's horses' stables. The building was constructed in 1889, long before the residence itself.

The shop attached to the shrine sells books and other memorabilia of Nogi Maresuke and small sake bottles of the kind the general used for his favourite sake from Tochigi.

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Entrance to Nogi Shrine next to Nogizaka Station (Tōkyō Chiyoda Line)

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Nogi Shrine

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The former Nogi residence

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The room where General Nogi and his wife took their lives.

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Memorial slab dedicated to Gen. Nogi

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Statue of Nogi Maresuke in commemoration of his role as principal of Peers School

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The stables at the former Nogi residence

More photos in the Nogi album.

General Nogi: the tragedy of a war hero

Nogi Maresuke (乃木 希典, 1849-1912) was born in Edo as the son of a Chōshū retainer. In 1871, he was commissioned a major in the newly formed Imperial Army and was given command of an infantry regiment two years later. In 1876, he quelled anti-government rebellions in Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. During the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, Nogi's regiment lost its battle standard, a disgrace he took so personally that he was determined to take his own life. His superiors dissuaded him from committing suicide, but the flag incident's shame was to haunt him for the rest of his life. Despite his feelings of guilt and bouts of drinking, his military career flourished: he was given brigade command in 1878 and promoted to major-general seven years later. In 1887-88, Nogi accomplished a tour of duty in Germany which left a deep impression on the general, instilling a renewed sense of military discipline and traditional samurai values.

General Nogi

In the Sino-Japanese War of 1894/95, his troops rapidly conquered the Liaodong Peninsula and its military base of Port Arthur, landing him a divisional command, a promotion to lieutenant general, and the title of baron (男爵 danshaku). He served as governor-general of Taiwan from 1896-98. Still, He left the position in frustration over his incapacity to solve the island's pressing issues and the corruption and incompetence prevalent in the colonial administration.

General Nogi and his wife Shizuko

General Nogi and his wife, Shizuko, in a photo taken on the day of their ritual suicide.

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904 brought on new military opportunities: he was promoted to general and given the command of the army to assault the Russian positions in Port Arthur directly. The Russians had leased Port Arthur from the Chinese, to whom Japan was forced to return to the peninsula in 1895. Nogi's unrelenting attacks on the Russians in the autumn of 1904 proved futile and claimed some 56,000 Japanese troops' lives, losses for which he felt personally responsible. Only after the Japanese high command dispatched another general, Kodama Gentarō (兒玉 源太郎, 1852-1906), to assist Nogi in a more reasonable strategy - namely to use heavy siege guns - did Port Arthur fall to the Japanese army. It is said that Emperor Meiji personally intervened to keep Nogi in command; Kodama's role in the fall of Port Arthur remains unclear until today. It was the emperor who, in an imperial conference, forbade Nogi to commit seppuku.

What contributed most to the general's glorification in Japan was his stoical acceptance of his two sons' death, both infantry officers who had died at Port Arthur. Nogi returned as a war hero despite his ineffectual military leadership. In 1907, he was elevated to count (伯爵 hakushaku) and made the director of the prestigious Peers School (nowadays Gakushūin University), where he promoted a patriotic and stern curriculum.

On the evening of September 13, 1912, at Emperor Meiji's funeral, General Nogi and his wife committed ritual suicide in their residence just as the funeral cortege left the palace. Some of his contemporaries viewed his death as an ultimate protest against modern Japan's extravagance and degeneration. However, his suicide note points to atonement for the mistakes of his military career. His act of junshi (殉死) - to follow one's lord into death - left a profound impact on the Japanese public and intellectuals such as Natsume Sōseki and made Nogi a symbol of loyalty and virtue.

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The uniform Gen. Nogi wore on the day of his suicide


Resources:

  • Bix, Herbert, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, Harper 2000
  • Frédéric, Louis, Japan Encyclopedia, Harvard University 2002
  • Keene, Donald, Emperor of Japan, Meiji and his World, Columbia University 2005

Link:


Access:

  • 8-11-27 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052; Nogizaka Station on Tokyo Chiyoda Line (one-minute walk).