Nogi Shrine

Nogi Shrine in Tokyo's Minato ward, on the edge of bustling Roppongi, is dedicated to General Nogi Maresuke and his wife Shizuko. Built in 1923 on the general's former residential plot, it commemorates their ritual suicide in 1912, performed out of loyalty (junshi) immediately after the death of the Meiji Emperor. The wooden 1902 family house, damaged in the war and reconstructed in 1962, still stands and opens on memorial days. Today the precinct is a quiet green pocket in the dense city, and on the fourth Sunday of every month a popular antiques flea market fills its courtyard.