Kenko Shrine

A special government shrine (別格官幣社) established in July 1928 to honour those who died in service to Japan in Taiwan. It was a large-scale facility designed by Ide Kaoru (井手薰) in an unorthodox fusion style blending Western, Japanese, and Chinese elements. Located next to Taipei Botanical Garden (台北植物園), it was regularly used for large-scale public events. In the post-war period many specifically Japanese features were dismantled but the building was repurposed for the ROC nation-building project. Although the main hall was rebuilt in 1955 as the domed structure now known as the Little Temple of Heaven (小天壇), the overall layout of the complex remains largely intact, and the sacred pond (神池) and tamagaki stone fence (玉垣) survive. It now operates as the National Taiwan Arts Education Center (國立臺灣藝術教育館). Known as Kenkō-jinja in Japanese.