Taishō era
Historical periods大正時代 ・ Reading: Taishō jidai
Definition
The short era from 1912 to 1926, remembered for Taishō democracy and a cosmopolitan urban culture. Meiji Jingū, one of the most visited shrines in Japan, was completed in Tokyo in this period, and the 1923 earthquake reshaped the capital.
A brief modern interlude
The reign of Emperor Taishō lasted only fourteen years, but it left a distinct flavor: parliamentary politics known as Taishō democracy, jazz cafes and department stores, and a romantic blend of Japanese and Western style still celebrated as Taishō roman. In religious life its landmark is Meiji Jingū, the great forested shrine completed in Tokyo in 1920 to enshrine Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, its woods planted by hand with a hundred thousand donated trees.
The Great Kantō Earthquake
On 1 September 1923 a massive earthquake and the fires that followed destroyed much of Tokyo and Yokohama, killing over one hundred thousand people. Historic temples and shrines burned across the capital, and their rebuilding introduced something new: ferro-concrete halls built to survive fire and shaking, an approach many urban temples repeated after the next catastrophe in 1945. Anniversary rites for earthquake victims are still held at memorial temples, and disaster memory remains part of Tokyo's religious landscape.
Common questions
- Why was Meiji Jingū built?
To enshrine Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken after their deaths. Completed in 1920, its forest was planted from about one hundred thousand donated trees and now feels entirely natural a century later.
- How did the 1923 earthquake change temples in Tokyo?
Fires after the quake destroyed many historic wooden halls. Rebuilding introduced reinforced-concrete temple architecture, and memorial services for the victims became a lasting part of Tokyo religious life.
- What is Taishō roman?
A nostalgic label for the era's blend of Japanese tradition with Western fashion, cafes, and design. Historic districts and temple towns often use the term for streets that keep this early twentieth-century look.