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Yasukuni-jinja, Tokyo
Japan's largest torii (shrine gate) - eight stories high, made of
high-tension steel plates and weighing 100 tons - boldly announces the shrine of
Yasukuni (lit. peaceful country), built in 1869. The souls of more than 2.5
million Japanese soldiers killed between 1868 and World War II are enshrined
here. This is Japan's most controversial Shinto shrine: proponents say it
honours those who died for Japan and the emperor; opponents say it glorifies
Japanese aggression and honours convicted war criminals.
