11 May 2007

The Ruins of the Shinto Shrine II (Syonan Jinja)

According to the National Library Board webite:

"The Syonan (Shonan) Shinto Shrine or Syonan Jinja, was built by British prisoners-of-war and the Japanese Army off Adam Road inside the MacRitchie Reservoir area. It was officially unveiled on 10 September 1942. However, the Shrine was demolished immediately after the Japanese surrender with the return of the British forces in 1945. Only remnants of a font and foundation remain. In September 2002, the National Heritage Board marked the shrine's location as a historic site. The Syonan (Shonan) Shinto Shrine or Syonan Jinja, was built by British prisoners-of-war and the Japanese Army off Adam Road inside the MacRitchie Reservoir area. It was officially unveiled on 10 September 1942. However, the Shrine was demolished immediately after the Japanese surrender with the return of the British forces in 1945. Only remnants of a font and foundation remain. In September 2002, the National Heritage Board marked the shrine's location as a historic site."

There were stone or concrete slabs scattered throughout the undergrowth of the rainforest. On the left of the stone font, there were ramparts measuring about four metres in height. There were also similar ramparts on the right.


The ramparts or parapet also extended to the front of the font. Ramparts of these sort appeared superficially to be somewhat similar to that used in Japanese fortications and castles during a far earlier period.


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