Karafuto Shrine (樺太神社, ''Karafuto jinja'') 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 in Toyohara,

Karafuto Prefecture , was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the R ...

in what is now

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian ...

, Russia. The shrine was established in 1911, and its main annual festival was held on August 23.

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 ...

enshrined here included Okunitama no kami (大国魂神), Ōkuninushi (as 大己貴神) and Sukunabikona (少彦名命). It was formerly a national shrine of the first rank (国幣大社, ''kokuhei taisha'') in the

Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philos ...

. The Karafuto Shrine was abandoned in 1945 due to the Soviet takeover of the island, and it was demolished on November 17. The modern site of the shrine has a concrete building, with a commemorative plaque to mark Japanese-Russian relations. Next to the shrine's site is a Western-style boarding school.

References

Shinto shrines in Karafuto Prefecture Buildings and structures demolished in 1945 Religious buildings and structures completed in 1911 20th-century Shinto shrines {{Shinto-stub

See also

References