Kanda Myojin　(神田明神)


This shrine is one of the oldest and most important shrines in Edo/Tokyo. The shrine’s origins dates back to 730, though its present site dates from 1603, when Edo Castle was expanded and the shrine was moved to Kanda. Over the years the shrine has been rebuilt several times due to fire and earthquakes, and as a result, the once wooden buildings are now comprised of concrete. In both the Edo Period and the Meiji Period, this shrine was seen to offer protection for the shogun or the emperor, and is known as the Tutelary Shrine of Edo.

The two-storey main gate, Zuishin-mon, marks the entrance of the shrine and is built with an irimoya styled roof. Inside you can find deities for 108 Tokyo neighbourhoods, including Kanda, Akihabara, and Nihonbashi. Kanda Matsuri, or the Kanda Festival, is one of the greatest Shinto festivals of Tokyo and is held on the Saturday and Sunday closest to May 15, on odd numbered years. The festival takes place at the Kanda Shrine and the surrounding Tokyo districts. This shrine demonstrates how the Japanese worldview affected the place of religion in both everyday life and in politics. The shrine also displays the artwork of the Edo era and is very colourful. 
People carrying a portable shrine during Kanda Matsuri
For Social Studies Teachers the Kanda Myojin shine covers the following Grade 8 Social Studies Outcomes:
"Values and Attitudes

8.1.2 appreciate how a society’s worldview can foster the choice to remain an isolated society
8.1.3 appreciate how models of governance and decision making reflect a society’s worldview
8.1.4 appreciate how a society’s worldview shapes individual citizenship and identity 


Knowledge and Understanding 

8.1.5 analyze the effects of cultural isolation during the Edo period by exploring and reflecting
upon the following questions and issues:
• How did the changes resulting from isolation affect Japan economically, politically and
socially during the Edo period? 
8.1.6 analyze the effects that rapid adaptation had on traditionally isolated Japan during the
Meiji period by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:
• What challenges emerged for the Japanese in maintaining traditional cultural aspects of their
society while undergoing rapid change?"(From the Grade 8 Social Studies Program of Studies)



Websites: http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/festival.shtml, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanda_Shrine, http://japanvisitor.blogspot.ca/2009/04/kanda-myojin-tokyo.html,
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C05%5C14%5Cstory_14-5-2007_pg9_9



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