The main prefectural shrine (縣社) of Kaohsiung, originally established in February 1912 at the foot of Shoushan (壽山) as Takao Kotohira Shrine (打狗金刀比羅神社). It was renamed Takao Shrine in 1920 and relocated to the hillside in 1928. After the war it was converted into Kaohsiung Martyrs’ Shrine (高雄市忠烈祠) and most of the Japanese structures were demolished in the 1970s and rebuilt in a Chinese palatial style. The original torii gate, komainu (guardian lion-dogs), and parts of large stone lanterns remain. Known as Takao-jinja in the original Japanese.
Map
Heritage Status
- Historic Building (歷史建築)
Links
- Wikipedia in Chinese (中文維基百科)
- Cultural Assets Bureau (文化部文化資產局)
- Taiwan Religious Cultural Map (臺灣宗教文化地圖)
Sources
- Kaneko Nobuya, Japanese Deities Overseas, Yeren Publishing House, 2020 金子展也，《遠渡來台的日本諸神：日治時期的台灣神社田野踏查》，野人，2020
Themes
- Japanese Colonial Era Taiwan (台灣日治時代)
- Shinto Shrines in Taiwan (台灣神社)
Connections
- Takao Kotohira Shinto Shrine (打狗金刀比羅神社)
Nearby Locations
Similar Content
:format(webp)/taiwan/hualien/xiulin/xiulin-jiawan-shinto-shrine-1.jpg)
:format(webp)/taiwan/series/huadong-valley-ride-2018-2-11.jpg)
:format(webp)/taiwan/chiayi/chiayi-east/chiayi-shinto-shrine-1.jpg)
:format(webp)/taiwan/taichung/qingshui/qingshui-shinto-shrine-1.jpg)
:format(webp)/taiwan/taitung/luye/luye-shikano-shinto-shrine-1.jpg)
Author
:format(webp)/v/a-synaptic-2025-1.jpg)
I am a web application developer, photojournalist, urban explorer, and history enthusiast passionate about the open web and documenting my experiences on this planet. This project was founded in the early 2010s and has evolved into a sort of personal Wikipedia of places that interest me (and often the photographs I’ve taken there). I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, but spend most of my time residing in Taiwan.