Hanazono Shrine (Hanazono-jinja) is a Shinto Shrine located close to the entertainment district Kabukicho in Shinjuku. The word hanazono stands for flower garden. The shrine has a long history and is dedicated to Inari, a god (kami) of fertility and business success. The Hanazono Shrine grounds include several sub-shrines like the Itoku Inari Shrine. You have to pass through some smaller torii gates before reaching the sub-shrine. The architecture style of the main building (haiden) is called dozo-zukuri. The whole area is surrounded by huge modern buildings.
Kitsune (fox) guardians are the traditional companions of Inari and can be found around the shrine, mainly clustered around a small auxiliary shrine situated at the end of a tunnel of torii.
The exact date of the construction of Hanazono Shrine is unknown, but the shrine was already mentioned in 1590 during the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568 – 1600). It was the time before shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543 – 1616) overtook the power in the castle town Edo, which is known now as Tokyo. Between 1624 till 1644 (Kan’ei era) the location of the shrine was 250 meters south of the current spot. Hanazono was heavily damaged in its history due to fires for example in 1780 and 1811. The shrine you see today is a concrete replica from 1965 after it was completely destroyed during World War 2.
Photo Taken: April 01, 2024
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