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Documenting the current state of the “overseas shrines” erected during Japan’s imperial years…

Torii are the gates placed at the entrance of Japanese shinto shrines. But the photographs in the book “Shinkoku no Zan’ei” (lit. “Remnants of a Divine Land”) show torii that now serve as playground equipment in parks, torii overgrown with plants in the middle of jungles, torii that became part of the local scenery of schools and churches. These torii were not photographed in Japan; they are torii erected in Taiwan, China, South and North Korea, Russia, the Philippines and other places during Japan’s imperial era that lasted until the end of World War 2 in 1945.

Photographer Yasuto Inamiya spent ten years traveling to over 200 overseas torii gates located in more than 14 countries to document the after-image of Japan’s colonial ambitions throughout Asia. With 82 photographs taken at 80 different locations, as well as extensive written information about each of the included shrines and essays contributed by specialist historian Michio Nakajima, “Shinkoku no zan’ei” is an important critical analysis of Japan’s recent past and its lasting effects on the international relationships.

Please note that all texts in the book are only included in Japanese language.