Originally constructed in 1895, Heian Jingû was built as a scaled-down version of the original Imperial Palace in Kyoto built in 794. Because of the Meiji Emperor and his quest to return Japan to a nation of Imperial power, many monuments like Heian Jingû were constructed to glorify the return of Imperial political power. Heian Jingû was built to commemorate the 1,100th year anniversary of the construction of the capital of Heian-kyô where the Emperor resided until Emperor Meiji moved the capital to the samurai capital of Edo, renaming the city Tokyo in the process. Enshrined are two emperors, Emperor Kanmu who founded the capital of Heian-kyô and Emperor Komei, the father of the Meiji Emperor and the last emperor to permanently reside in the Heian-kyô capital.

For the casual: 8. For the educated: 8.

Heian Jingû is one of the least shrine-like shrines that I visited simply because of how ostentatious it is. Usually, shrines have a very strong natural element and this applies to even to shrines that were in the center of metropolitan areas. Now that being said, this is not a criticism of Heian Jingû. The shrine may not have the same kind of natural balance that the other shrines do, but it does have a garden around the side and the back. The garden is the only part of the shrine that requires a ticket. I really felt that Heian Jingû was really beautiful for the shrine that it is and what it represents.