Yasukuni Shrine

The shrine was created to honor the spirits — or “kami” in Japanese — of the soldiers who died in the Boshin War of 1868-9. Soldiers who fought and died in subsequent wars until World War II have been enshrined here. However, no one who died in combat since the Second World War has been enshrined. To date, 1,068 people who were convicted of some classification of a war crime have been enshrined here; 14 are so-called “Class A” war criminals, making it one of the more controversial places to visit.