Sanno Shrine　(山王神社)

One-legged torii gate
Sanno Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nagasaki. Founded in 1652, it was named after Sanno (Hie) Shinto Shrine near Kyoto because of the similarity in the terrain and the fact that both shrines were located in a place called Sakamoto. In front of the shrine are two gigantic camphor trees that are thought to have been planeted at the time of the shrine’s foundation. Nowadays, this shrine is famous for its one-legged torii gate. The gate was 900 meters from the hypocenter of the atomic bomb attack on August 9, 1945, and though one column was knocked down, the other somehow stayed up. In addition, the two camphor trees, though stripped of their leaves and scorched, survived the blast. Due to the blast, the trees are only 10 meters tall, but their canopies are fully of vibrant green leaves, and at the base of the trees there are often folded paper cranes left by visitors. The seedlings of the trees were recovered and now the second-generation trees are growing healthily at schools and towns throughout Japan.
Both the torii and the trees are a testament to Nagasaki's survival amidst the attack of the bomb.



The two famous camphor trees
One of the surviving camphor trees, covered with origami cranes

For Social Studies teachers The Sanno Shrine relates to the following Social Studies 20-1 and 20-2 outcomes:

"1.5 explore a range of expressions of nationalism 
1.6 develop understandings of nation and nationalism
2.2 appreciate that the pursuit of national interest has positive and negative consequences
2.7 analyze nationalism and ultranationalism during times of conflict"
(From the Social Studies 20-1 and 20-2 Program of Studies)