The Ruins of the Shinto Shrine III (Syonan Jinja)

We ventured deeper into what we had deemed to be the perimeter of the ruins and found the foundations of another structure. An inner sanctum of sorts. There were worn, stone steps leading to a dais that would had been the foundation for another structure.

There were many concrete or stone-lined holes in the ground. These were about a metre or so deep and they were sometimes linked by drains.

The View from the Top of the Rampart

From the heights, the expanse of the rainforest was revealed.

On the centre right side of the image, there appeared to be a monkey on a branch. There was apparently a monkey observing us when we were at the font area at the ruins of the Shinto shrine. I had captured its image without knowing.

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.

The Ruins of the Shinto Shrine (Syonan Jinja)

At the summit, I saw the dimly remembered stone cistern which I saw seen twenty-six years ago at night.

Around the cistern, there were some moss-covered circular stone slabs with squarish pegholes. We had figured that these were originally for wooden pillars for an enclosure of some sort.

There were about six of these circular slabs.

Another quote from the National Library Board website:

"At the base of the pylon, in a small shed-like shrine were the remains of the fallen Japanese. In front of the monument was a font which visitors would take a sip from using a long-handled ladle. Shinto meaning "the way of the gods" is the native faith of the Japanese and is primarily pantheistic. It is necessary to cleanse oneself before approaching a Shinto Shrine for prayers, thus the provision of the font."

This would be the shed-like shrine where the font was located.