The Shrine is dedicated to the spirit of a great agronomist named Sontoku Ninomiya, who was born near here and whose childhood name was Kinjiro. Not only
did he contribute greatly to the development of agriculture in Japan, but
also was revered as a man of Confucian virtue. Shinto shrines in Japan
often enshrine divinized persons such as legendary ancestors of the Imperial
Family, historic heroes and great men. For example, Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo, the most popular one in today's Japan drawing over three million worshipers during the first three days of a new year, is sacred to the spirit of Emperor Meiji (1852-1912). He helped modernize Japan as the first emperor after the Meiji Imperial Restoration of 1868. Nikko Toshogu Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture, a popular sightseeing spot among foreigners, is raised to Ieyasu Tokugawa (1542-1616), the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate. In Kamakura, Egara Tenjin Shrine, Kuzuharagaoka Shrine, Kamakuragu Shrine, Goryo Jinja fall into the same category.Likewise, the Shrine is one of many that enshrine real men who were respected as heroes or of high virtues. Born into a poor farmer in Odawara, Ninomiya had witnessed in his childhood that his parents worked real hard. Nonetheless, they remained extremely poor no matter how hard they worked. Worse still, their farmland was washed away by the flood of nearby Sakawa River in 1791 when he was 5 years old, followed by the another one in 1802. In addition, Ninomiya was bereaved of his father at age 14 and mother at 16. With no one to rely on, the orphaned Ninomiya had to labor day after day to feed the two younger brothers and himself. Despite extreme poverty and hard working, he pursued knowledge, mostly for enhancing productivity of farm crop, utilizing every spare moment and saving money by frugality.
Difficulty is the nurse of greatness and diligence is the mother of success. At age 24, he was already an independent farmer reaping a rich harvest no one could match. His ability as a agrarian reformer drew attention of a local official assigned to the office of Odawara feudal clan. Soon afterward, Ninomiya was invited to the Odawara local government to reform its finance, which was a considerable drain. Six years later in 1812, his efforts were rewarded. The clan's financial position greatly improved toward the sound budget. Odawara feudal lord Tadazane Okubo (1781-1837) officially commended his meritorious services, and later Okubo himself was reputed as a wise ruler. Thereafter, Ninomiya was invited by several local clans, mainly in Tochigi Prefecture, to make their finance healthy. Though all of them had been badly off, Ninomiya succeeded in reconstructing them one by one. There is a town called Ninomiya in southeastern part of Tochigi Prefecture. It was named after him in praise of his contribution.
He developed the idea of Hotoku, or to repay virtue, meaning that all benefits received should be repaid, whereby a prosperous and peaceful society would be created. The founder of the Shrine is called Hotoku-sha, or literally 'Association of Repaying Benefits.'
Statue of Ninomiya
Before the Pacific War, all of the Japanese elementary schools had a bronze statue of Ninomiya in the courtyard, exactly the same one as shown in the picture here. It demonstrates that the young Ninomiya is reading a book even at a time when carrying a bundle of firewood on his back. Ninomiya was a role model for schoolchildren, and the elderly Japanese born before 1935 must remember the statue vividly. Back at the time, ethics was an obligatory subject in all elementary schools. Textbooks praised him as a paragon of virtue combining his code of ethics with Confucian virtue of sincerity, diligence and thrift.
As Japan's defeat seemed certain in 1943 and 1944, however, all of those statues, as well as bells in temples, had to be delivered to arsenals for weapon production. The statue in the Shrine is one of the few that survived the confiscation. (The exact copy of the statue can be seen today at the entrance of Yaesu Book Center, a large bookstore situated near Tokyo Station.)
Today's schools do not teach ethics. However, Ninomiya's accomplishment has been told, and some schools have his statue in their school grounds even today. According to the Real Estate Surveyors' Association, there are 143 elementary schools out of 860 in Kanagawa Prefecture, which have a Ninomiya's statue in schools' grounds as of June 2010, but in different style from the old one. Some of them are sitting on a chair and reading a book.
Imperial Rescript on Education
Coupled with the statue of Ninomiya in every elementary school before the War was a structure called Ho-anden. It was literally a hall to enshrine a holly material. Installed in the
Ho-anden were imperial couple's picture, or His and Her Majesty's portrait to be
exact, and a certified copy (certified by the Ministry of Education) of
the Imperial Script on Education. In fact, the emperor back then was a
living god. The original Rescript was issued in the name of Emperor Meiji
in October 1890 and served as an instrument to politically indoctrinate
schoolchildren. The 315-word text were made of three paragraphs. The first
stated that Japan's national polity was based on the historical bonds between
the benevolent emperors and loyal subjects. In the second, it exhorted
the Japanese to follow 16 items of Confucian code of ethics, such as "Be
filial to one's parents, affectionate to one's brothers and sisters, extend
one's benevolence to all, observe the law," and so on. In case of
emergency, one had to devote oneself mentally and physically to guarding
the emperor. The third paragraph stressed that the virtues listed were
the teachings passed on by imperial ancestors and had to be observed by
all Japanese. The Rescript served as a powerful instrument to mentally
unify Japanese under the system of centralized imperial rule and remained
in effect until the end of World War II.Japan's National Flag and Anthem
The Rescript on Education combined with Japan's national flag and anthem may evoke memories of Japan's imperialism before the War. The national flag has a crimson disk at the center of the white ground and signifies the rising sun, or the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, which was regarded as the progenitor of the Imperial Family. The national anthem Kimigayo is literally 'His Majesty's Reign', and starts with the phrase "May the emperor's rule last thousands of years."
Both national flag and anthem have been valid even after the War, and were formalized by law as recently as August 1999 amid harsh criticism. Every spring at entrance ceremonies, a controversy arises over whether public schools should raise the flag and students should sing Kimigayo. The Education Board instructs all principals to raise the flag and make the students sing the anthem whenever ceremonies are held. Japan's Teachers' Union stiffly opposes. Principals are always put in a dilemma. In February 1999, the principal at a high school in Hiroshima Prefecture was driven to suicide by hanging the day before the graduation ceremony.
The Castle dates from nearly 600 years back. The founder Yoriharu Omori,
of whom little is known including his date of birth and death, was a powerful
samurai clan in Odawara area. Several generations later in 1495 when Fujiyori Omori was the lord of the Castle, another samurai clan named 
