호국신사와 전시기 민중동원

Gokokujinja Shrines and Public Mobilization during Wartime - Mainly in Ibarakiken Gokokujinja Shrine

During the period of the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement in Japan, the main purpose of Gokokujinja Shrine construction was to commemorate and honor the war dead and provide their bereaved families with psychological relief. Looking at the changing role of Gokoku-jinja Shrines, during the early years of the Sino-Japanese War, the Prayer Festival was held at Chinreisya in Ibaraki Prefecture with the participation of the public and military families in order to mobilize their national spirit for home front defense. This means that the role of Gokokujinja Shrines had been primarily to commemorate and honor the war dead and then, at the end of the war, their role dramatically changed, becoming a place to arouse war sentiment. It is also noteworthy that Gokokujinja Shrines served as a place to hold events for war mobilization on the home front with the outbreak of the Pacific War.