Koxinga Shrine
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| Koxinga Shrine | |
|---|---|
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Shinto |
 Glossary of Shinto | |
Koxinga Shrine was a Shinto shrine in Taiwan.[1] It was built in Tainan long before Japanese rule in honor of Koxinga, a leader born in Japan who drove out the Dutch from Taiwan.[2] It was renamed Kaizan Shrine (開山神社) by the Imperial government.[3]: 107
It was originally built in 1662 by Zheng Jing as an Ancestral shrine for his father Koxinga in a Chinese style.[4]
The death of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa was presented as parallel to the much older story of the life of Koxinga, a Japanese man who became an official under the Mind dynasty, and was forced to flee to Taiwan after the Qing took over, drove the Dutch from Taiwan and died of malaria.[3]: 107
Koxinga Shrine was built by the followers of Koxinga and the Japanese converted it into a Shinto Shrine after their invasion. Governor of Taiwan Isogai Seizō requested it be Taiwan's top Shinto Shrine and called Kaitai Jinja (lit. ‘Opening-Taiwan Shrine’) but it ended up only being ranked quite low as a prefectural shrine called Kaizan Shrine.[3]: 108
The shrine's location and recognition were influenced by multiple factors. Taiwanese mausoleums bore a resemblance to Shinto shrines, prompting Taiwanese Shintoists to view them similarly. Additionally, the site's popularity among the Taiwanese and the legend of Koxinga could be harnessed to reinforce the legitimacy of Japanese rule in Taiwan..[3]: 108
Kaizan Jinja was unique, as it was a pre-existing shrine-mausoleum that became recognized as a Shinto shrine. Despite significant modernization efforts, the shrine maintained many Taiwanese elements. For instance, during major festivals, local-style theatre and martial arts were performed. Footage from the 1930s showcases a blend of Japanese and Taiwanese customs during the shrine's celebrations..[3]: 108
In 1942 the governor of Chūreki District in Shinchiku (Hsinchu) Prefecture, Miyazaki Naokatsu argued that the mausoleums of Taiwan were Shinto, and when Taiwan joined Japan the Taiwanese kami became Japanese kami..[3]: 108
Tainan Shrine was built on the site of the death of the prince, a few blocks away from Koxinga Shrine.[3]: 110 It was unique in being granted permission to worship only the prince and no other deities, as almost all other shrines would worship the three pioneer kami too..[3]: 112
See Also
References
- ^ "Koxinga Shrine(延平郡王祠)". Tainan Travel. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ^ Koxinga Shrine(延平郡王祠)-Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government (2017-11-01). "Koxinga Shrine(延平郡王祠)-Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government". Koxinga Shrine(延平郡王祠)-Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Shimizu, Karli; Rambelli, Fabio (2022-10-06). Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire. London New York (N.Y.) Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-350-23498-7.
- ^ D, John (2016-10-02). "Koxinga Shrine in Taiwan". Green Shinto. Retrieved 2023-10-27.