Shokonsha

   'Shokon' means to invoke or invite the spirits of the dead, specifically the war dead. A shokonsha is a type of shrine dedicated since the Meiji period to past military heroes and the spirits of the war dead. In Meiji-era Tokyo 'the Shokonsha' referred to the Yasukuni jinja. Initially there were twenty-seven 'special' shokonsha shrines (bekkaku-kampei-sha) enshrining well-known loyal servants of the emperors and unifiers of the country. By 1901 there were 138 shrines classified as shokonsha; all were renamed gokoku jinja 'nation-protecting shrines' in 1939. Prefectural gokoku jinja were set up after the Russo-Japanese war and recognised as shokonsha. Below these were local public or private war memorials such as chukonhi (memorials to loyal spirits). Many of the non-shrine war memorials located in schools and other public areas were destroyed under the Shinto Directive but major memorials containing the remains of the war dead such as the chureito (tower to loyal spirits) in Okayama which is built within the Okayama gokoku shrine precincts may be seen.

   See Goshi, Ireisai.