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Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社 or 靖國神社) is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 respectively, and the First Indochina War of 1946–1954, including war criminals. The shrine's purpose has been expanded over the years to include those who died in the wars involving Japan spanning from the entire Meiji and Taishō periods, and the earlier part of the Shōwa period.

The shrine lists the names, origins, birthdates and places of death of 2,466,532 men. Among those are 1,066 convicted war criminals, twelve of whom were charged with Class A crimes (the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of the war); eleven were convicted on those charges with the twelfth found not guilty on all such charges though he was found guilty of Class B war crimes. The names of two more men charged with Class A war crimes are on the list but one died during trial and one before trial so they were never convicted. This has led to many controversies surrounding the shrine. Another memorial at the Honden (main hall) building commemorates anyone who died on behalf of Japan and so includes Koreans and Taiwanese who served Japan at the time. In addition, the Chinreisha ("Spirit Pacifying Shrine") building is a shrine built to inter the souls of all the people who died during World War II, regardless of their nationality. It is located directly south of the Yasukuni Honden.

Japanese soldiers fought World War II in the name of Emperor Shōwa, who visited the shrine 8 times between the end of the war and 1975. However, he stopped visiting the shrine due to his displeasure over the enshrinement of top convicted Japanese war criminals. His successors Akihito and Naruhito have never visited the shrine.

Foundation for the dead in the Boshin War and Meiji Restoration
The site for the Yasukuni Shrine, originally named Tōkyō Shōkonsha (東京招魂社), was chosen by order of the Meiji Emperor. The shrine was established in 1869, in the wake of the Boshin War, in order to honor the souls of those who died fighting for the Emperor. It initially served as the "apex" of a network of similar shrines throughout Japan that had originally been established for the souls of various feudal lords' retainers, and which continued to enshrine local individuals who died in the Emperor's service. Following the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, the Emperor had 6,959 souls of war dead enshrined at Tōkyō Shōkonsha. In 1879, the shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja. The name Yasukuni, quoted from the phrase「吾以靖國也 in the classical-era Chinese text Zuo Zhuan (Scroll 6, 23rd Year of Duke Xi), literally means "Pacifying the Nation" and was chosen by the Meiji Emperor. The name is formally written as 靖國神社, using the kyūjitai character forms common before the end of the Pacific War.
 * Among the enshrined are Yoshida Shōin, Sakamoto Ryōma, Takasugi Shinsaku, Nakaoka Shintarō, Takechi Hanpeita, Sanai Hashimoto, and Ōmura Masujirō, who contributed to the Tokugawa shogunate's overthrow and the Meiji Restoration during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. In contrast, the shrine does not enshrine the war dead of shogunate retainers such as the soldiers of the former Shogunate forces, the Ouetsu Reppan Domei, the Shinsengumi and the Shogitai.
 * Although Saigō Takamori, Eto Shinpei and Maebara Issei made a contribution to the Meiji Restoration, they were not enshrined because they revolted against the Meiji government after that.

From First Sino-Japanese War to Second Sino-Japanese War
The enshrinement of war dead at Yasukuni was transferred to military control in 1887. As the Empire of Japan expanded, Okinawans, Ainu and Koreans were enshrined at Yasukuni alongside ethnic Japanese. Emperor Meiji refused to allow the enshrinement of Taiwanese due to the organized resistance that followed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, but Taiwanese were later admitted due to the need to conscript them during World War II. In 1932, two Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku) Catholic students refused visit to Yasukuni Shrine on the grounds that it was contrary to their religious convictions. In 1936, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Propaganda Fide) of the Roman Curia issued the Instruction Pluries Instanterque, and approved visits to Yasukuni Shrine as an expression of patriotic motive. This response of the Catholic Church helped the Jesuit university avoid a fateful crisis, but it meant its bowing down to the military power and control by Emperor system.

During World War II and the GHQ occupation period
By the 1930's, the military government sought centralized state control over memorialization of the war dead, giving Yasukuni a more central role. Enshrinements at Yasukuni were originally announced in the government's official gazette so that the souls could be treated as national heroes, but this practice ended in April 1944 and the identities of the spirits were subsequently concealed from the general public. The shrine had a critical role in military and civilian morale during the war era as a symbol of dedication to the Emperor. Enshrinement at Yasukuni signified meaning and nobility to those who died for their country. During the final days of the war, it was common for soldiers sent on kamikaze suicide missions to say that they would "meet again at Yasukuni" following their death. In addition, military songs created at that time often included information about Yasukuni, such as Doki no Sakura(同期の桜) and Calming the country(国の鎮め). At that time, however, the coalition saw that Japan, which was in a tight corner, was using Yasukuni for propaganda purposes. The main point is that the Yasukuni is used as a means of pressure to induce soldiers to choose suicide bombing to escape desperate situations or to socially bury those who are captured or want to surrender.

After World War II, the US-led Occupation Authorities (known as GHQ for General Headquarters) issued the Shinto Directive, which ordered the separation of church and state and forced Yasukuni Shrine to become either a secular government institution or a religious institution independent from the Japanese government. Yasukuni Shrine has been privately funded and operated since 1946, when it was elected to become an individual religious corporation independent of the Association of Shinto Shrines. The GHQ planned to burn down the Yasukuni Shrine and build a dog race course in its place. However, Father Bruno Bitter of the Roman Curia and Father Patrick Byrne of Maryknoll insisted to GHQ that honoring their war dead is the right and duty of citizens everywhere, and GHQ decided not to destroy the Yasukuni shrine. Moreover, the Roman Curia reaffirmed the Instruction Pluries Instanterque in 1951.

Enshrinement of war criminals
The shrine authorities and the Ministry of Health and Welfare established a system in 1956 for the government to share information with the shrine regarding deceased war veterans. Most of Japan's war dead who were not already enshrined at Yasukuni were enshrined in this manner by April 1959. War criminals prosecuted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East were initially excluded from enshrinement after the war. Government authorities began considering their enshrinement, along with providing veterans' benefits to their survivors, following the signature of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951, and in 1954 directed some local memorial shrines to accept the enshrinement of war criminals from their area. No convicted war criminals were enshrined at Yasukuni until after the parole of the last remaining incarcerated war criminals in 1958. The Health and Welfare Ministry began forwarding information on Class B and Class C war criminals (those not involved in the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of the war) to Yasukuni Shrine in 1959, and these individuals were gradually enshrined between 1959 and 1967, often without permission from surviving family members.

Information on fourteen men who had been charged with Class A war crimes—eleven were convicted on these charges, one was convicted of Class B war crimes, and two died before completing trial; this group included the prime ministers and top generals from the war era—was forwarded to the shrine in 1966. The shrine passed a resolution to enshrine these individuals in 1970. The timing for their enshrinement was left to the discretion of head priest Fujimaro Tsukuba, who delayed the enshrinement through his death in March 1978. His successor Nagayoshi Matsudaira, who rejected the Tokyo war crimes tribunal's verdicts, enshrined these fourteen convicted or alleged war criminals in a secret ceremony in 1978. Emperor Shōwa, who visited the shrine as recently as 1975, was privately displeased with the action, and subsequently refused to visit the shrine. The details of the enshrinement of war criminals eventually became public in 1979, but there was minimal controversy about the issue for several years. No Emperor of Japan has visited Yasukuni since 1975.

The head-priest Junna Nakata at Honzen-ji Temple (of the Shingon sect Daigo-ha) requested the pontiff Pope Paul VI to say a Mass for the repose of the souls of all people in the Yasukuni, which would include the 1,618 men condemned as Class A, B and C war criminals, and he promised to do so. In 1980, Pope John Paul II complied, and a Mass was held in St. Peter's Basilica for all the fallen civilians and fallen dead worshiped in the shrine.

Statements by the shrine museum
The museum and website of the Yasukuni Shrine have made statements criticizing the United States for "convincing" the Empire of Japan to launch the attack on Pearl Harbor in order to justify the Pacific War, as well as claiming that Japan went to war with the intention of creating a "Co-Prosperity Sphere" for all Asians.

Chronology
See details on related controversy in Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine.

 * 1862
 * December — (Tenporeki (Tenpō calendar)): The Shinsōsai (神葬祭) (Shōkonsai (招魂祭)) for the Junnan shishi (殉難志士) was held for the first time at the Shindō Sōsaijō Reimeisha (神道葬祭場霊明社) (current Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine) at Higashiyama in Kyoto. The Saijin (deities) enshrined in the Shindō Sōsaijō Reimeisha are three kami including Kukurihime no Kami (菊理媛神).
 * 1868
 * January — (Tenpō calendar): The Boshin War started and continued until May, 1869 (Tenpō calendar)
 * April 20 — (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi (proclamation) by the Tōkaidō Senpō Sōtokufu (東海道先鋒総督府) (Tōkaidō spearhead governor) ordered the creation of a list of the war dead.
 * April 28 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Tōkaidō Senpō Sōtokufu decided to hold Shōkonsai (招魂祭)
 * May 10 (Tenpō calendar): The Dajokan Fukoku (Proclamation or Decree by the Grand Council of State) ordered the enshrinement of the war dead at Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto (Current Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine).
 * May 28 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Gyōseikan (行政官) (Administrative officers) ordered submission of the list of the war dead to Jingikan (神祇官) (Bureau of Rites)
 * June 2 (Tenpō calendar): The Shōkonsai was held at Nishi-no-maru ōhiroma of Edo Castle
 * July 8 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Jingikan (神祇官) (Bureau of Rites) ordered the holding of the Shōkonsai.
 * July 10–11 (Tenpō calendar): The Shōkonsai was held at the Katō Sōrenjo (河東操錬場) in Kyoto.
 * 1869
 * July 12 (Tenpō calendar): The tasshi by the Gunmukan ordered the establishment of Tōkyō Shōkonsha
 * July 29: The establishment of Tōkyō Shōkonsha: Emperor Meiji gave Tōkyō Shōkonsha an estate worth 5000 koku (nominally 10,000 koku) as eitai saishiryō (永代祭粢料).
 * July: The 1st Gōshisai (合祀祭) (a festival held for enshrining the war dead together) (Number of newly enshrined: 3,588)
 * 1870: The Shōkonsha horse trackrace was established as the first Japanese racetrack in the country along the outside of the shrine approach
 * 1872 May 10 (Tenpo calendar): The establishment of the honden
 * 1874
 * February: The Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)
 * Emperor Meiji paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine. Since then, royal visit had been paid intermittently until 1975
 * August: The 2nd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 192)
 * November: The 3rd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 16)
 * 1875
 * February 22: Rinjisai (臨時祭)
 * February: The 4th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 12)
 * July: 5th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1)
 * 1876 January: The 6th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1)
 * 1877
 * January: The 7th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 131)
 * February: Seinan War
 * November 14: Rinjisai
 * November: The 8th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 6,505)
 * 1878
 * July: The 9th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 160)
 * November: The 10th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 4)
 * 1879
 * June 4: The shrine was registered to Bekkaku-kanpeisya and renamed Yasukuni shrine by Dajōan.
 * June: The 11th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 266)
 * 1882
 * February: The inauguration of Yūshūkan (the oldest military museum in the world)
 * November: The 12th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 12)
 * 1883 May: The 13th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 80)
 * 1884 November: The 14th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 47)
 * 1885 May: The 15th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 6)
 * 1888
 * May: The 16th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 607)
 * November: The 17th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 18)
 * 1889
 * May: The 18th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,460)
 * November: The 19th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 61)
 * 1891 November: The 20th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,272)
 * 1893 November: The 21st Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 80)
 * 1894 August: The First Sino-Japanese War started and continued until April 1895.
 * 1895
 * November 17: Rinjitaisai (臨時大祭)
 * November: The 22nd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,496)
 * 1896
 * May 6: Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 23rd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 143)
 * November: The 24th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 97)
 * 1898
 * November 5: Rinjitaisai
 * November: The 25th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 11,383)
 * : The closure of the horse racetrack
 * 1899
 * May: The 26th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 340)
 * November: The 27th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshineed: 83)
 * 1900
 * May: The 28th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 35)
 * May: The Boxer Rebellion (to September)
 * 1901
 * October 31: Rinjitaisai
 * October: The establishment of the haiden
 * November: 29th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,282)
 * 1904
 * February: The Russo-Japanese War (until September 1904)
 * May: The 30th Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 31st Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 30,883)
 * 1906
 * May 2: Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 32nd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 29,960)
 * 1907
 * May 3: Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 33rd Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 24,657)
 * 1908
 * May 5: Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 34th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 1,943)
 * 1909
 * May 5: Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 35th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 817)
 * 1910
 * May 5: Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 36th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 141)
 * 1911
 * May 5: Rinjitaisai
 * May: The 37th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 631, Total: 118,499)
 * 1914 July: World War I (to October 1918)
 * 1919 May: The festival marking the 50th anniversary of the foundation
 * 1920 March: The Nikolayevsk Incident
 * 1923 September: The Great Kanto earthquake
 * 1928 May: The Jinan Incident
 * 1931 March: The Shōkonshi (招魂祠) of the Fukuba family was transferred to inside the Yasukuni precinct as Motomiya.
 * 1932: The incident between Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku) and the Yasukuni Shrine occurred, when a student refused visit to the Yasukuni shrine with the rest of the school on the ground that it was contrary to his religious convictions.
 * 1936: The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) of the Roman Curia issued the Instruction Pluries Instanterque, and approved visit to the Yasukuni shrine as an expression of patriotic motive
 * 1938 April: Establishment of the new Shōkonsaitei
 * 1937 July: The Second Sino-Japanese War
 * 1941 December 8: Pacific War (continued to 1945)
 * 1945
 * August 15: Emperor Shōwa gave a recorded radio address across the Empire on August 15. In the radio address, called the Gyokuon-hōsō, he announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies.
 * October: The General Headquarters (GHQ) planned to burn down the Yasukuni Shrine and build a dog race course in its place. However, Father Bruno Bitter of the Roman Curia and Father Patrick Byrne of Maryknoll insisted to GHQ that honoring their war dead is the right and duty of citizens everywhere, and GHQ decided not to destroy the Yasukuni shrine.
 * November 19: Rinji Dai-Shōkonsai
 * December: The Shinto Directive
 * 1946
 * May 1: The 67th Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 26,969)
 * September: Yasukuni Shrine was registered as a Religious Corporation of Japan.
 * 1947
 * The Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 59,337)
 * July 13: The 1st Mitama Matsuri.
 * 1951
 * April 3: The enforcement of the Religious Corporation Act
 * October 18: The first Reitaisai after WWII
 * The Roman Curia reconfirmed the Instruction Pluries Instanterque
 * 1952 April 28: The Treaty of San Francisco came into force.
 * 1955
 * August 14: A memorial service was held for 540 suicide victims after the end of the Pacific war.
 * October 17: Rinjitaisai
 * 1956: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 112,609)
 * 1957: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 470,010)
 * 1958: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 217,536)
 * 1959
 * April 8: Rinjitaisai
 * April: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 346 dead including the class B and C war criminals who died from the death sentence execution)
 * October 4: Gōshisai (Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa and Prince Nagahisa Kitashirakawa)
 * October: Gōshisai (Number of newly enshrined: 479 dead including the class B and C war criminals who died from the death sentence execution)
 * November 5: Taisai (festival) marking the 90th anniversary of the foundation
 * 1960 August 15: Asia-Taiheiyō Sensō Junkokusya Kenshō Ireisai (アジア・太平洋戦争殉国者顕彰慰霊祭) (the memorial service to honor the war dead in the Asia-Pacific War)
 * 1964 August 15: Holding of a government-sponsored memorial ceremony for Japan's war dead (the ceremony has been held at the Budokan since 1965)
 * 1965
 * July: The establishment of Chinreisha
 * October 19: Rinjitaisai
 * 1969 October 19: The Taisai (annual main festival) marking the 100th anniversary of the foundation was held, and the Ikōshu (遺稿集) (Collection of literary remains of the war dead in the Greater East Asia War (Pacific War) was issued as a commemorative publication in 1973.
 * 1972 March 13: The establishment of Reijibo Hōanden (霊璽簿奉安殿)
 * 1975
 * August 15: Takeo Miki became the first prime minister to visit the shrine on August 15, the anniversary of the Japanese surrender. He visited in a solely private capacity and underscored this by not using an official vehicle, bringing other public officials or using his title as prime minister. Similar visits continued without arousing international protests even after the enshrinement of war criminals became publicly known.
 * November 21: Emperor Shōwa visited the Yasukuni shrine. Since then, there has not been another imperial visit to the shrine because of his displeasure over the enshrinement of convicted war criminals.
 * The head-priest at the Honsenji (the Shingon sect Daigo-ha) Junna Nakata hoped that the pontiff Pope Paul VI might say a Mass for the repose of the souls of the 1,618 men condemned as Class A, B and C war criminals, and the Pope promised to say the Mass requested of him but died in 1978 without saying the Mass.
 * 1976 June 22: The establishment of the Eirei ni kotaeru kai (英霊にこたえる会) (Society for Honoring the Glorious War Dead)
 * 1978 October 17: Gōshisai was held to enshrine 14 dead who died from the death penalty execution of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East or died in connection with the Tribunal. Since then, the Yasukuni shrine has used the designation Shōwa Junnansya (昭和殉難者) (Martyrs of Shōwa).
 * 1980
 * May 22: Pope John Paul II kept Pope Paul VI's word, and the Mass for the fallen civilians and fallen dead worshiped in the shrine including the unofficial 1,618 war criminals of Classes A, B and C took place in St. Peter's Basilica. Nakata attended the Mass, and presented the Pope with an eight-foot high replica of the Daigoji temple's five-story pagoda; inside the replica were memorial tablets Nakata had personally made for all 1,618 war criminals. The Pope blessed the replica pagoda but took no special interest in it.
 * November 16: The establishment of Yasukuni Jinja Hōsankai (靖国神社奉賛会)
 * 1985
 * August 15: Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone paid his respects at the Yasukuni shrine, which initiated criticism by People's Republic of China for the first time. The criticism of Nakasone's action was so intense that neither he nor his several immediate successors visited the shrine again.
 * September: The 80th anniversary commemorating and honoring the Russo-Japanese War dead (日露戦争役80年慰霊顕彰祭)
 * 1989 January: Taisai (festival) marking the 120th anniversary of the foundation
 * 1996 Prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto paid his respects at the Yasukuni shrine in order to fulfill a promise to a childhood mentor.
 * 1998 December: The disbandment of Yasukuni Jinja Hōsankai (靖国神社奉賛会) and reorganization of Yasukuni Jinja Sukei Hōsankai (靖国神社崇敬奉賛会)
 * 2001
 * July 18: The Asahi Shimbun reported that the South Korean government was reclaiming spirit tablets of Korean enshrined in the Yasukuni shrine even though Yasukuni shrine houses only Symbolic Registry of Divinities (霊璽簿) (Former Saishinbo (祭神簿)) and spirit tablets do not exist.
 * August 13: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who ran against Ryutaro Hashimoto for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2001, made a campaign pledge to visit the shrine on an annual basis regardless of the criticism it would cause, which won him support among nationalists and helped him become prime minister from 2001 to 2006. He paid his respect at the Yasukuni shrine on August 13, 2001, as a Prime Minister for the first time in 5 years since the last Hashimoto's visit. This and following Koizumi's annual visits drew extensive criticism from other East-Asian countries, particularly the People's Republic of China, where the visits stoked anti-Japanese sentiment and influenced power struggles between pro-Japanese and anti-Japanese leaders within the Chinese Communist Party. The Japanese government officially viewed the visits by Koizumi as private visits in an individual capacity to express respect and gratitude to the many people who lost their lives in the war, and not for the sake of war criminals or to challenge the findings of the Tokyo war crimes tribunal.
 * 2002
 * April 21: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
 * July 13: The inauguration of the current Yūshūkan
 * 2003 January 14: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
 * 2004
 * January 1: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
 * September: The establishment of new "Sanshūden"
 * 2005
 * January 5: A Yasukuni shrine official said "the shrine has come under intense cyber attack, with its Web site barraged by e-mails believed to come from China since September 2004." The shrine also said on its official web site "These attacks on the Yasukuni Shrine can be taken as not only attacks on the 2.5 million souls who gave their lives for the sake of the country but are also a malicious challenge to Japan. We would like to let the people [of Japan] know the Yasukuni Shrine is under attack, which is a dirty act of terrorism that negates the order of Internet technology and society."
 * June 14: About fifty relatives of the war dead of Taiwan visited the Yasukuni shrine for the ceremony to remove spirits of Taiwanese Aboriginal soldiers, but canceled it due to sound trucks (gaisensha, 街宣車) and requests from the police.
 * October 12: A brief ceremony attended by priests of the Yasukuni shrine, representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officials from the embassy of South Korea was held, and the Pukkwan Victory Monument Hokkan-Taisyō-Hi (北関大捷碑) was turned over to officials from South Korea, who returned it to its original location, which is now in North Korea.
 * October 17: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine.
 * 2006
 * August 15: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine on August 15 (End of the Pacific War Day) for the first time in 21 years since Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone's visit on August 15.
 * October 12: The Motomiya and Chinreisha became open to the public (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
 * 2007 June 7: Former leader of Taiwan Lee Teng-Hui paid respect at the Yasukuni shrine to honor his senior brother who died as a Japanese soldier.
 * 2008 December 24: The Yasukuni official website was cracked by unknown hackers, the homepage content replaced, and the China national flag appeared once during this time.
 * 2009 August 11: The Republic of China (Taiwan) Legislative Yuan Aboriginal Atayal member Ciwas Ali and about 50 other Taiwanese Aboriginal members protested in front of the haiden of Yasukuni Shrine in an effort to remove the enshrined spirits of Taiwanese Aboriginal soldiers who died fighting for the Japanese army during Pacific War, as well as suing Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for visiting Yasukuni Shrine, and injured Yasukuni officers; then Japanese police officers were dispatched.
 * 2010 August 15: Longstanding official visit to the Yasukuni shrine by the ministers of state discontinued until 2012.
 * 2011
 * December 26: The shinmon (神門) was set on fire by a Chinese man, Liu Qiang.
 * May 14 : President of the World Uyghur Congress Rebiya Kadeer visited the Yasukuni Shrine
 * August 15: The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yuichiro Hata and the National Public Safety Commission Jin Matsubara (Minister of State for Special Missions) paid respects at the Yasukuni Shrine as state ministers for the first time since the Democratic Party of Japan assumed the reins of government.
 * 2013
 * April: The Minister of Finance Tarō Asō, the National Public Safety Commission Keiji Furuya, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Yoshitaka Shindo, and the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Tomomi Inada paid their respects at the Yasukuni shrine during an annual spring festival ceremony.
 * August 15: Three cabinet members, Keiji Furuya, Yoshitaka Shindo, and Tomomi Inada, paid their respects at the Yasukuni shrine.
 * September 21: A Korean resident of Japan threatened to commit arson at Yasukuni shrine, and was arrested by Police.
 * December 26: Prime Minister Shinzō Abe made a visit to Yasukuni Shrine and Chinreisha. The visit sparked admonition from the Chinese government, which called Abe's visits to Yasukuni "an effort to glorify the Japanese militaristic history of external invasion and colonial rule ... and to challenge the outcome of World War II," as well as regret from Russia.  The US embassy in Tokyo said it was disappointed with Abe's actions and that his visit would exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbours. The United States urged Japan to improve strained relations with neighboring countries in the aftermath of Abe's controversial visit to Yasukuni Shrine. South Korea's culture minister, Yoo Jin-ryong, criticized Abe by saying that his visit "hurts not only the ties between South Korea and Japan, but also fundamentally damages the stability and co-operation in north-east Asia." In an official statement, Abe explained that he wished to "report before the souls of the war dead how my administration has worked for one year and to renew the pledge that Japan must never wage a war again. It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people."

 * 2014
 * January: A poll by the conservative-leaning Sankei Shimbun found that only 38.1% of respondents approved of the most recent visit by Abe, while 53% disapproved, a majority of whom cited harm to Japan's foreign relations as their reason. At the same time, 67.7% of respondents said they were not personally convinced by Chinese and Korean criticism of the visit. However, another poll in 2015 by Genron NPO found that 15.7% of respondents disapproved of visits in general by Prime Ministers while 66% of respondents saw no problem, particularly if they were done in private (which was a decrease from 68.2% the year before).
 * April: Canadian singer Justin Bieber paid a visit to the war shrine. After coming under heavy criticism from Chinese and South Korean fans, he apologized for posting a photo of his visit, claiming to have not known about the background surrounding the shrine.
 * August 15: Three cabinet ministers visited the shrine to mark the 69th anniversary of the surrender of Japan in World War II. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe however chose not to.
 * 2015
 * November 23: An explosion at a public toilet in the war shrine caused some damage to the ceiling and wall of the bathroom near the south gate of the shrine
 * 2018
 * Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan took photos of himself posing in front of cherry blossom trees back in March 2018. He followed the Sakura route suggested by state sponsored news agencies such as People's Network. In August 2021, the background architecture of one of the photos was recognized as Saikan (office area of the Shrine). After the photos became viral and sparked outrage in China, Zhang issued an apology. However, multiple media agencies and majority of people still accused him of betrayal to the national dignity. The photos resulted in 22 brands terminating their endorsements of Zhang. His upcoming films and television shows also terminated all of their associations with him. The China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) then called for a total entertainment ban on Zhang. Several Chinese music and streaming platforms removed his music, television and film works. Chinese social media platforms Sina Weibo and TikTok deleted his studio and personal accounts.
 * October 31: Chief priest resigns following his criticism against Emperor.

Annual celebrations

 * January 1:
 * 12 a.m. Wakamizu Hōten (若水奉奠)
 * 8 a.m. Shinnensai (新年祭)
 * January 2: Futsukasai (二日祭)
 * January 7: Shōwa-tennō Musashino no Misasagi Yōhai-shiki (昭和天皇 武蔵野陵 遙拝式) (Service of worshipping toward Musashi Imperial Graveyard's Musashino no Misasagi, which is the Imperial mausoleum of the Shōwa Emperor)
 * January 30: Kōmei-tennō Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashi no Misasagi Yōhai-shiki (孝明天皇 後月輪東山陵 遙拝式) (Service of worshipping toward Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashi no Misasagi, which is the mausoleum of Emperor Kōmei)
 * February 11: Kenkoku Kinensai (建國記念祭) (National Foundation Day)—Anniversary of the day on which Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu, is said to have founded the Japanese nation.
 * February 17: Kinensai (祈年祭)
 * February 23: Tenno Gotanshin Hoshukusai (天皇御誕辰奉祝祭) (birthday of the current emperor)
 * April 21–23: Shunki Reitaisai (春季例大祭)
 * April 21: Kiyoharai (清祓)
 * April 22: Tojitsusai (当日祭)
 * April 19: Daifutsukasai (第二日祭), Naorai (直会)
 * April 29: Shōwasai (昭和祭) — Emperor Shōwa's birthday
 * June 29:
 * 10 a.m. Gosoritsu Kinenbisai (御創立記念日祭) (Founding Day) Commemoration of the founding of Yasukuni Jinja
 * 2 p.m. Kenei Hikō-shiki (献詠披講式)
 * June 30: Ooharaeshiki (大祓式)
 * July 13–16: Mitama Matsuri (みたままつり) (Mitama Festival)— A mid-summer celebration of the spirits of the ancestors. The entry walk is decorated with 40 foot high walls of more than 30,000 lanterns, and thousands of visitors come to pay respects to their lost relatives and friends.
 * July 13: Zenyasai (前夜祭)
 * July 14: Daiichi-yasai (第一夜祭)
 * July 15: Daini-yasai (第二夜祭)
 * July 16: Daisan-yasai (第三夜祭)
 * July 30: Meiji Tennō Fushimi Momoyama no Misasagi Yoōhai-shiki (明治天皇 伏見桃山陵 遙拝式) (Service of worshipping toward Fushimi Momoyama no Misasagi, which is the mausoleum of Emperor Meiji)
 * October 17: Jingu Kannamesai Yoōhai-shiki (神宮神嘗祭遙拝式) (Service of worshipping toward Ise Jingū Kannamesai)
 * October 17–20: Shuki Reitaisai (秋季例大祭) (annual autumn festival)
 * October 17: Kiyoharai (清祓) (Purifying ceremony), Rinjitaisai (臨時大祭)
 * October 18: Tōjitsusai (当日祭)
 * October 19: Daifutsukasai (第二日祭)
 * October 20: Daimikkasai (第三日祭), Naorai (直会) (feast)
 * November 3: Meijisai (明治祭) (Emperor Meiji's birthday)
 * November 23: Niinamesai (新嘗祭) (Festival of First Fruits)
 * December 25: Taishō-tennō Tama-no-Misasagi Yōohai-shiki (大正天皇 多摩陵 遙拝式) (Worship of Tama-no-misasagi for Emperor Taishō), Susuharaishiki (Sweeping soot ceremony)
 * December 31: Ooharaeshiki (大祓式) (Grand Purification Ceremony), Joyasai (除夜祭) (Year-End Ritual)
 * The first, 11th and 21st day of each month: Tukinamisai (月次祭)
 * Every day: Asa Mikesai, (朝御饌祭), Yu Mikesai (夕御饌祭), Eitai Kagurasai (永代神楽祭) (Perpetual Kagura festival), Meinichisai, (命日祭)

Enshrined deities
There are over 2,466,000 enshrined kami (deities) listed in the Yasukuni's Symbolic Registry of Divinities. This list includes soldiers, as well as women and students who were involved in relief operations in the battlefield or worked in factories for the war effort. There are neither ashes nor spirit tablets in the shrine. Enshrinement is not exclusive to people of Japanese descent. Yasukuni has enshrined 27,863 Taiwanese and 21,181 Koreans. Many more kami – those who fought in opposition to imperial Japan, as well as all war dead regardless of nationality – are enshrined at Chinreisha.

Eligible categories
As a general rule, the enshrined are limited to military personnel who were killed while serving Japan during armed conflicts. Civilians who were killed during a war are not included, apart from a handful of exceptions. A deceased must fall into one of the following categories for enshrinement in the honden:

 * 1) Military personnel, and civilians serving for the military, who were:
 * 2) * killed in action, or died as a result of wounds or illnesses sustained while on duty outside the Home Islands (and within the Home Islands after September 1931)
 * 3) * missing and presumed to have died as a result of wounds or illnesses sustained while on duty
 * 4) * died as a result of war crime tribunals which have been ratified by the San Francisco Peace Treaty
 * 5) Civilians who participated in combat under the military and died from resulting wounds or illnesses (includes residents of Okinawa)
 * 6) Civilians who died, or are presumed to have died, in Soviet labor camps during and after the war
 * 7) Civilians who were officially mobilized or volunteered (such as factory workers, mobilized students, Japanese Red Cross nurses and anti air-raid volunteers) who were killed while on duty
 * 8) Crew who were killed aboard Merchant Navy vessels
 * 9) Crew who were killed due to the sinking of exchange ships (e.g. Awa Maru)
 * 10) Okinawan schoolchildren evacuees who were killed (e.g. the sinking of Tsushima Maru)
 * 11) Officials of the governing bodies of Karafuto Prefecture, Kwantung Leased Territory, Governor-General of Korea and Governor-General of Taiwan

Although new names of soldiers killed during World War II are added to the shrine list every year, no one who was killed due to conflicts after Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty that formally ended World War II in 1951 has been qualified for enshrinement. Therefore, the shrine does not include members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces which was established after the peace treaty.

Enshrinement is carried out unilaterally by the shrine without consultation of surviving family members and in some cases against the stated wishes of the family members. Some families from foreign countries such as South Korea have requested that their relatives be delisted on the grounds that enshrining someone against their beliefs in life constitutes an infringement of the Constitution.

Conflicts
Japan has participated in 16 other conflicts since the Boshin War in 1869. The following table chronologically lists the number of people enshrined as kami at the honden (as of October 17, 2004) from each of these conflicts.

The Yasukuni shrine does not include the Tokugawa shogunate's forces (particularly from the Aizu domain) or rebel forces who died during the Boshin War or Satsuma Rebellion because they are considered enemies of the emperor. They are enshrined at Chinreisha.

Precinct
There are a multitude of facilities within the 6.25 hectare grounds of the shrine, as well as several structures along the 4 hectare causeway. Though other shrines in Japan also occupy large areas, Yasukuni is different because of its recent historical connections. The Yūshūkan museum is just the feature that differentiate Yasukuni from other Shinto shrines. The following lists describe many of these facilities and structures.

Shrine structures
On the shrine grounds, there are several important religious structures. The shrine's haiden, Yasukuni's main prayer hall where worshipers come to pray, was originally built in 1901 in styles of Irimoya-zukuri, Hirairi, and Doubanbuki (copper roofing) in order to allow patrons to pay their respects and make offerings. This building's roof was renovated in 1989. The white screens hanging off the ceiling are changed to purple ones on ceremonial occasions.

The honden is the main shrine where Yasukuni's enshrined deities reside. Built in 1872 and refurbished in 1989, it is where the shrine's priests perform Shinto rituals. The building is generally closed to the public.

The building located on the right side of haiden is the Sanshuden (参集殿) (Assembly Hall), which was rebuilt in 2004. Reception and waiting rooms are available for individuals and groups who wish to worship in the Main Shrine.

The building located directly behind the Sanshuden is the Tochakuden (到着殿) (Reception Hall).

The building located directly behind the honden is known as the Reijibo Hōanden (霊璽簿奉安殿) (Repository for the Symbolic Registers of Divinities) built in styles of Kirizuma-zukuri, Hirairi, and Doubanbuki. It houses the Symbolic Registry of Divinities (霊璽簿)—a handmade Japanese paper document that lists the names of all the kami enshrined and worshiped at Yasukuni Shrine. It was built of quakeproof concrete in 1972 with a private donation from Emperor Shōwa.

In addition to Yasukuni's main shrine buildings, there are also two peripheral shrines located on the precinct. Motomiya (元宮) is a small shrine that was first established in Kyoto by sympathizers of the imperial loyalists that were killed during the early weeks of the civil war that erupted during the Meiji Restoration. Seventy years later, in 1931, it was moved directly south of Yasukuni Shrine's honden. Its name, Motomiya ("Original Shrine"), references the fact that it was essentially a prototype for the current Yasukuni Shrine. The second peripheral shrine is the Chinreisha. This small shrine was constructed in 1965, directly south of the Motomiya. It is dedicated to those not enshrined in the honden—those killed by wars or incidents worldwide, regardless of nationality. It has a festival on July 13.

Torii and Mon (gates)
There are several different torii and mon (門) gates located on both the causeway and shrine grounds. When moving through the grounds from east to west, the first torii visitors encounter is the Daiichi Torii (Ōtorii). This large steel structure was the largest torii in Japan when it was first erected in 1921 to mark the main entrance to the shrine. It stands approximately 25 meters tall and 34 meters wide and is the first torii. The current iteration of this torii was erected in 1974 after the original was removed in 1943 due to weather damage. This torii was recently repainted.

The Daini Torii (Seidō Ōtorii) is the second torii encountered on the westward walk to the shrine. It was erected in 1887 to replace a wooden one which had been erected earlier. This is the largest bronze torii in Japan. Immediately following the Daini Torii is the shinmon (神門). A 6-meter tall hinoki cypress gate, it was first built in 1934 and restored in 1994. Each of its two doors bears a Chrysanthemum Crest measuring 1.5 meters in diameter. West of this gate is the Chumon Torii (中門鳥居) (Third Shrine Gate), the last torii visitors must pass underneath before reaching Yasukuni's haiden. It was recently rebuilt of cypress harvested in Saitama Prefecture in 2006.

In addition to the three torii and one gate that lead to the main shrine complex, there are a few others that mark other entrances to the shrine grounds. The Ishi Torii is a large stone torii located on the south end of the main causeway. It was erected in 1932 and marks the entrance to the parking lots. The Kitamon and Minamimon are two areas that mark the north and south entrances, respectively, into the Yasukuni Shrine complex. The Minamimon is marked by a small wooden gateway.

Memorials

 * Irei no Izumi (Soul-Comforting Spring): This modern looking monument is a spring dedicated to those who suffered from or died of thirst in battle.
 * Statue of War Widow with Children: This statue honors the mothers who raised children in the absence of fathers lost at war. It was donated to the shrine in 1974 by these mothers' children.
 * Statue of Kamikaze Pilot: A bronze statue representing a kamikaze pilot stands to the left of the Yūshūkan's entrance. A small plaque to the left of the statue was donated by the Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association in 2005. It lists the 5,843 men who died while executing suicide attacks against Allied naval vessels in World War II.
 * Statue of Ōmura Masujirō: Created by Okuma Ujihiro in 1893, this statue is Japan's first Western-style bronze statue. It honors Ōmura Masujirō, a man who is known as the "Father of the Modern Japanese Army."

 * Monument of Justice Radha Binod Pal: This newer monument was erected at Yasukuni Shrine in 2005. It honours Indian Bengali judge Radha Binod Pal, the lone justice on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East's trials of Japanese war crimes committed during World War II to find all the defendants not guilty. On April 29, 2005, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told his counterpart Koizumi Junichiro that "the dissenting judgement of Justice Radha Binod Pal is well known to the Japanese people and will always symbolise the affection and regard our people have for your country."
 * Statues honoring horses, carrier pigeons and dogs killed in war service: These three life-sized bronze statues were all donated at different times during the second half of the 20th century. The first of the three that was donated, the horse statue was placed at the Yasukuni Shrine in 1958 to honor the memory of the horses that were utilized by the Japanese military. Presented in 1982, the statue depicting a pigeon atop a globe honors the homing pigeons of the military. The last statue, donated in March 1992, depicts a German shepherd and commemorates the soldiers' canine comrades. Opened, full bottles of water are often left at these statues.

 * Hitachimaru Junnan Kinenhi (常陸丸殉難記念碑) (Monument for the dead in Hitachi Maru Incident)
 * Tanaka Shitai Chukonhi (田中支隊忠魂碑) (Monument of Tanaka squad)
 * Shugo Kenpei no Hi (守護憲兵之碑) (Monument of Kempeitai (Military police corps))
 * Gunjin Chokuyu no Hi (軍人勅諭の碑) (Monument of Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors, which is a Shōchoku (imperial edict) and code of ethics that Emperor Meiji issued to soldiers of the army and the navy on January 4, 1882)

Other buildings and structures
(from Kudanshita Station)
 * Syagō Hyō (社号標) (Stone pillar on which the shrine name is engraved)
 * Sazareishi (さざれ石) – near the Daiichi Torii
 * Red stone – near the Daiichi Torii
 * Senseki no ishi (戦跡の石) (The stone of battle site)
 * Takatōrō (高燈籠) (Tall lantern) – the largest tōrō in Japan
 * Ōtemizusha (大手水舎) – Ōtemizusha, which means large temizuya (main purification font), was established in 1940.
 * Dovecote (shirohato kyusha): Almost 300 white doves live and are bred in a special dovecote located on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine.
 * Kitamon (北門) (North gate)
 * Nōgakudo (Noh Theater): Originally built in Shiba Park, Tokyo in 1881, and moved to Yasukuni Shrine in 1903. Noh dramas and traditional Japanese dance are performed on its stage in honor of the resident divinities.
 * Saikan (Purification Retreat) Shamusho (Shrine Office) (斎館社務所)
 * Yasukuni Kaikan (靖國会館)
 * Yasukuni Kaikō Bunko (靖国偕行文庫) (Yasukuni Archives): Opened on October 7, 1999, archives more than 100,000 volumes including reference material that describes the circumstances under which the divinities enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine died, as well as source material for research on modern history.
 * Yūshūkan: Originally built in 1882, this museum is located to the north of the main hall. Its name is taken from a saying – "a virtuous man always selects to associate with virtuous people." The building was repaired and expanded in 2002. The museum is a facility to stores and exhibit relics, and it also houses the weaponry of the Imperial Japanese Navy, notably including a Zero Fighter plane and Kaiten suicide torpedo. The museum has come into great controversy owing to its revisionist depiction of Japanese history, particularly of the militarist period from 1931 to 1945, in which it is perceived as denying Japanese war crimes and glorifying Japan's militarist past.
 * Shinchi Teien (神池庭園): This Japanese style strolling garden was created in the early Meiji Era. Its centerpiece is a small waterfall located in a serene pond. It was refurbished in 1999.
 * Sumo Ring (Sumōjō (相撲場)): In 1869, a sumo wrestling exhibition was held at Yasukuni Shrine in order to celebrate the shrine's establishment. Since then, exhibitions involving many professional sumo wrestlers, including several grand champions (yokozuna) take place at the Spring Festival almost every year. The matches are free of charge.
 * Shōkonsaitei (招魂斎庭)
 * Senshintei (洗心亭) (Teahouse)
 * Seisentei (靖泉亭) (Teahouse)
 * Kōuntei (行雲亭) (Teahouse): The Kōuntei is used as a tea ceremony school room by the Urasenke from Monday to Saturday, and was used for manufacturing the Yasukuni (Kudan) sword before World War II.
 * Yasukuni Tokeidai (靖国の時計台) (Yasukuni clock tower)

Guji (Chief priests): term of office

 * Kiyoshi Aoyama (青山清): 16 July 1879 – 6 February 1891 (died in office)
 * Mizuho Kamono (賀茂水穂): 17 February 1891 – 28 April 1909
 * Momoki Kamo (賀茂百樹): 29 March 1909 – 21 April 1939
 * Takao Suzuki (鈴木孝雄): 21 April 1938 – 17 January 1946
 * Fujimaro Tsukuba (筑波藤麿): 25 January 1946 – 20 March 1978 (died in office)
 * Nagayoshi Matsudaira (松平永芳): 1 July 1978 – 31 March 1992
 * Toshiyasu Ono (大野俊康): 1 April 1992 – 20 May 1997
 * Tadashi Yuzawa (湯澤貞): 21 May 1997 – 10 September 2004
 * Toshiaki Nambu (南部利昭): 11 September 2004 – 7 January 2009 (died in office)
 * Takaharu Kyōgoku (京極高晴): 15 June 2009 – 19 January 2013
 * Yasuhisa Tokugawa (徳川康久): 19 January 2013 – 28 February 2018 (a great-grandson of Yoshinobu Tokugawa, the last Tokugawa shogun)
 * Kunio Kohori (小堀邦夫): 1 March – 31 October 2018
 * Tatebumi Yamaguchi (山口建史): 1 November 2018 – 31 March 2024
 * Umio Otsuka (大塚海夫): 1 April 2024 – present

Gon-guji (associate chief priests): term of office

 * Shosaku Takahara (高原正作): 16 April 1938 – 3 October 1945
 * Tokitsune Yokoi (横井時常): 16 November 1945 – 30 June 1948
 * Shuutaro Takeuchi (竹内秀太郎): 26 April 1948 (interim)
 * Yoshihachi Ikeda (池田良八): 31 August 1948 – 9 February 1979
 * Katsushige Fujita (藤田勝重): 9 February 1979 – 16 July 1982
 * Tadamasa Suzuki (鈴木忠正): 16 July 1981 – 1 November 1984
 * Jushin Kannotou (神野藤重申): 1 November 1984 – 17 November 1989
 * Terumichi Kiyama (木山照道): 1 August 1985 – 5 November 1990
 * Tadashi Yuzawa (湯澤貞): 1 November 1990 – 20 May 1997
 * Katsuo Mitsui (三井勝生): 21 May 1997 – 8 September 2009
 * Tadamasa Hanada (花田忠正): 19 January 2000 – 31 October 2003
 * Tatebumi Yamaguchi (山口建史): 1 June 2004 – 30 June 2015
 * Ogata (小方孝次): 1 November 2009 – 23 June 2017
 * Akio Saka (坂明夫): 21 September 2015 – 30 January 2020 (died in office)
 * Nobumasa Murata (村田信昌): 1 November 2017 – present

Organization
Yasukuni shrine is an individual religious corporation and does not belong to the Association of Shinto Shrines. Yasukuni shrine has departments listed below. The Gūji (宮司) controls the overall system, and the Gon-gūji (権宮司) assists the Gūji.
 * Saimu-bu (祭務部)
 * Sōgi-ka (祭儀課)
 * Chōsa-ka (調査課)
 * Sōmu-bu (総務部)
 * Sōmu-ka (総務課)
 * Jinji-ka (人事課)
 * Kanri-ka (管理課)
 * Kōhō-ka (広報課)
 * Sentoku-bu (宣徳部)
 * Sūkeihōsan-ka (崇敬奉賛課)
 * Sentoku-ka (宣徳課)
 * Keiri-bu (経理部)
 * Keiri-ka (経理課)
 * Jigyō-ka (事業課)
 * Yūshūkan-bu (遊就館部)
 * Shiryō-ka (史料課)
 * Tenji-ka (展示課)
 * Bunko-shitu (文庫室)
 * Shamu Jisshusei (社務実習生)

Bank notes

 * 1942–1948: Empire of Japan 50 sen banknote

Postage stamps

 * Japanese 17 sen stamp (1943)
 * Japanese 27 sen stamp (1945)
 * Japanese 1 yen stamp (1946)

Scenic postmarks

 * Kudan Post Office (九段郵便局)
 * Kōjimachi Post Office (麹町郵便局)

Popular music

 * Kudan no haha (九段の母) (Singers: Masaru Shio, Yuriko Futaba etc.)
 * Tokyō dayo Okkasan (東京だョおっ母さん) (Singer: Chiyoko Shimakura)

Plays

 * Dōki no sakura (同期の桜) (The cherry blossoms of a same period)

Books

 * 1881: Buko Nenpyo zokuhen (武江年表続編) (The chronology of Bukō (Edo, Musashi Province), 2nd volume) (Author:Gesshin Saitō (Yukinari Saitō) (斎藤月岑 (斎藤幸成)))
 * 1863–1872: Hirosawa Saneomi Nikki (廣澤真臣日記) (The diary of Masaomi Hirosawa) (Author: Masaomi Hirosawa (広沢真臣))
 * 1868–1877: Kido Takayoshi Nikki (木戸孝允日記) (The diary of Kido Takayoshi) (Author: Kido Takayoshi)
 * 1905: Yasukuni Jinjashi (靖国神社誌) (History of Yasukuni Shrine) (Author: Iwao Yamauchi (山内岩雄))
 * 1905–1907: Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (吾輩は猫である) (I Am a Cat) (Author: Natsume Sōseki)
 * 1911: Yasukuni Jinjashi (靖国神社誌) (History of Yasukuni Shrine) (Authors: Terauchi Masatake, 斎藤実賀, Momoki Kamo (加茂百樹))
 * 1917: Tokyo no sanjunen (東京の三十年) (My thirty years in Tokyo) (Author:Katai Tayama)

Posters

 * 1871: Shōkonsha keidai Furansu ōkyokuba no zu (招魂社境内 フランス大曲馬図) (Big French circus on the grounds of Shokonsha (Yasukuni) shrine)

Swords
In 1933, Minister of War Sadao Araki founded the Nihon-tō Tanrenkai (日本刀鍛錬会) in the grounds of the shrine to preserve old forging methods and promote Japan's samurai traditions, as well as to meet the huge demand for guntō (military swords) for officers. About 8,100 "Yasukuni swords" were manufactured in the grounds of the Yasukuni Shrine between 1933 and 1945.

title: Yasukuni Shrine


text:
Talk:Witan

Role in evolution of English Parliament?
So the modern consensus seems to be that Witenagemot had no role in the coming about of Parliament? I'm sure it left at least a cultural tendency toward it. knoodelhed (talk) 20:19, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I ma not sure whether the article covers this point. The best source is John Maddicott's The Origins of the English Parliament. Dudley Miles (talk) 20:56, 22 January 2021 (UTC)
 * @Scott Sanchez, I think the general consensus is that the witan and its Norman counterpart the curia regis probably did help lay the foundations for what would become parliament in the reign of Henry III. However, the belief prevalent before the World War 1 that the witan was some kind of representative democratic "proto-parliament" has been rejected by modern scholars. As @Dudley Miles points out, Maddicott starts his book in 924, so he definitely sees the royal assemblies of the Anglo-Saxon period as contributing to what would become parliament. Perhaps the article needs to be more clearer on this issue. Ltwin (talk) 04:49, 28 April 2024 (UTC)

Requested move 7 December 2021

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. No objections. (closed by non-admin page mover) Extraordinary Writ (talk) 19:57, 14 December 2021 (UTC)

Witenagemot → Witan – As explained in the article, Witenagemot is a rare usage, only occasionally attested at the end of the Anglo-Saxon period. It would be better to name the article "Witan", which was common in Anglo-Saxon sources. Dudley Miles (talk) 18:21, 7 December 2021 (UTC) The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

IPA of Witan
Could someone correct the opening sentence to show the pronunciation of the given word, Witan, rather than of the Old English form, witena ġemōt? Thanks. Pooh bear138 (talk) 09:31, 20 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks for pointing this out. I have deleted for now, pending someone competent dealing with the problem. Dudley Miles (talk) 09:45, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Article reorganization
I just completed a reorganization of the article that I hope is an improvement. I updated some of the sources (many are from the 1800s and early 1900s). I also changed the section scheme (which used to be Terminology; Origin; Constitution and limitations; Function and legacy; American Revolution).The outline is now: Ltwin (talk) 17:03, 27 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Etymology
 * Attendance
 * Role
 * Electing and deposing kings
 * Norman Conquest
 * Historiography

Italicization
Currently, witan is italicized using Template:Lang. According to MOS:FOREIGNITALIC, "As a rule of thumb. do not italicize words that appear in multiple major English dictionaries." Witan and witenagemeot have entries in Merriam-Webster, Collins, and Dictionary.com. As a result, I'm removing the italics. Ltwin (talk) 07:23, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Witan


text:
Apnea

Apnea, BrE: apnoea, is the temporary cessation of breathing. During apnea, there is no movement of the muscles of inhalation, and the volume of the lungs initially remains unchanged. Depending on how blocked the airways are (patency), there may or may not be a flow of gas between the lungs and the environment. If there is sufficient flow, gas exchange within the lungs and cellular respiration would not be severely affected. Voluntarily doing this is called holding one's breath. Apnea may first be diagnosed in childhood, and it is recommended to consult an ENT specialist, allergist or sleep physician to discuss symptoms when noticed; malformation and/or malfunctioning of the upper airways may be observed by an orthodontist.

Cause
Apnea can be involuntary—for example, drug-induced (such as by opiate toxicity), mechanically / physiologically induced (for example, by strangulation or choking), or a consequence of neurological disease or trauma. During sleep, people with severe sleep apnea can have over thirty episodes of intermittent apnea per hour every night.

Apnea can also be observed during periods of heightened emotion, such as during crying or accompanied by the Valsalva maneuver when a person laughs. Apnea is a common feature of sobbing while crying, characterised by slow but deep and erratic breathing followed by brief periods of breath holding when crying.

Another example of apnea are breath-holding spells; these are sometimes emotional in cause and are usually observed in children as a result of frustration, emotional stress and other psychological extremes.

Voluntary apnea can be achieved by closing the vocal cords, simultaneously keeping the mouth closed and blocking the nasal vestibule, or constantly activating expiratory muscles, not allowing any inspiration.

Complications
Under normal conditions, humans cannot store much oxygen in the body. Prolonged apnea leads to severe lack of oxygen in the blood circulation, leading to dysfunction of organ systems. Permanent brain damage can occur after as little as three minutes and death will inevitably ensue after a few more minutes unless ventilation is restored. However, under special circumstances such as hypothermia, hyperbaric oxygenation, apneic oxygenation (see below), or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, much longer periods of apnea may be tolerated without severe detrimental consequences.

Untrained humans usually cannot sustain voluntary apnea for more than one or two minutes, since the urge to breathe becomes unbearable. The reason for the time limit of voluntary apnea is that the rate of breathing and the volume of each breath are tightly regulated to maintain constant values of CO2 tension and pH of the blood more than oxygen levels. In apnea, CO2 is not removed through the lungs and accumulates in the blood. The consequent rise in CO2 tension and drop in pH result in stimulation of the respiratory centre in the brain which eventually cannot be overcome voluntarily. The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the lungs will eventually irritate and trigger impulses from the respiratory center part of the brain and the phrenic nerve. Rising levels of carbon dioxide signal the body to breathe and resume unconscious respiration forcibly. The lungs start to feel as if they are burning, and the signals the body receives from the brain when CO2 levels are too high include strong, painful, and involuntary contractions or spasms of the diaphragm and the muscles in between the ribs. At some point, the spasms become so frequent, intense and unbearable that continued holding of the breath is nearly impossible.

When a person is immersed in water, physiological changes due to the mammalian diving reflex enable somewhat longer tolerance of apnea even in untrained persons as breathing is not possible underwater. Tolerance can in addition be trained. The ancient technique of free-diving requires breath-holding, and world-class free-divers can hold their breath underwater up to depths of 214 metres and for more than four minutes. Apneists, in this context, are people who can hold their breath for a long time.

Hyperventilation
Voluntary hyperventilation before beginning voluntary apnea is commonly believed to allow the person involved to safely hold their breath for a longer period. In reality, it will give the impression that one does not need to breathe, while the body is actually experiencing a blood-oxygen level that would normally, and indirectly, invoke a strong dyspnea and eventually involuntary breathing. Some have incorrectly attributed the effect of hyperventilation to increased oxygen in the blood, not realizing that it is actually due to a decrease in in the blood and lungs. Blood leaving the lungs is normally fully saturated with oxygen, so hyperventilation of normal air cannot increase the amount of oxygen available, as oxygen in blood is the direct factor. Lowering the concentration increases the pH of the blood, thus increasing the time before blood becomes acidic enough so the respiratory center becomes stimulated, as described above. While hyperventilation will yield slightly longer breath-holding times, any small time increase is at the expense of possible hypoxia, though it might not be felt as easily. One using this method can suddenly lose consciousness unnoticed—a shallow water blackout—as a result. If a person loses consciousness underwater, there is considerable danger that they will drown. An alert diving partner or nearby lifeguard would be in the best position to rescue such a person. Static apnea blackout occurs at the surface when a motionless diver holds their breath long enough for the circulating oxygen in blood to fall below that required for the brain to maintain consciousness. It involves no pressure changes in the body and is usually performed to enhance breath-hold time. It should never be practiced alone, but under strict safety protocols with a safety guard or equipment beside the diver.

Apneic oxygenation
Because the exchange of gases between the blood and airspace of the lungs is independent of the movement of gas to and from the lungs, enough oxygen can be delivered to the circulation even if a person is apneic, even if the diaphragm does not move. With the onset of apnea, low pressure develops in the airspace of the lungs because more oxygen is absorbed than CO2 is released. With the airways closed or obstructed, this will lead to a gradual collapse of the lungs and suffocation. However, if the airways are open, any gas supplied to the upper airways will follow the pressure gradient and flow into the lungs to replace the oxygen consumed. If pure oxygen is supplied, this process will serve to replenish the oxygen stored in the lungs and resume sufficient ventilation. The uptake of oxygen into the blood will then remain at the usual level, and the normal functioning of the organs will not be affected. A detriment to this hyperoxygenation is the occurrence of nitrogen washout, which can lead to absorption atelectasis.

However, no CO2 is removed during apnea. The partial pressure of CO2 in the airspace of the lungs will quickly equilibrate with that of the blood. As the blood is loaded with CO2 from the metabolism without a way to remove it, more and more CO2 will accumulate and eventually displace oxygen and other gases from the airspace. CO2 will also accumulate in the tissues of the body, resulting in respiratory acidosis.

Under ideal conditions (i.e., if pure oxygen is breathed before onset of apnea to remove all nitrogen from the lungs, and pure supplemental oxygen is insufflated), apneic oxygenation could theoretically be sufficient to provide enough oxygen for survival of more than one hour's duration in a healthy adult. However, accumulation of carbon dioxide (described above) would remain the limiting factor.

Apneic oxygenation is more than a physiologic curiosity. It can be employed to provide a sufficient amount of oxygen in thoracic surgery when apnea cannot be avoided, and during manipulations of the airways such as bronchoscopy, intubation, and surgery of the upper airways. However, because of the limitations described above, apneic oxygenation is inferior to extracorporal circulation using a heart-lung machine and is therefore used only in emergencies, short procedures, or where extracorporal circulation cannot be accessed. Use of PEEP valves is also an accepted alternative (5 cm H2O in average weight patients and 10 cm H2O significantly improved lung and chest wall compliance in morbidly obese patients).

In 1959, Frumin described the use of apneic oxygenation during anesthesia and surgery. Of the eight test subjects in this landmark study, the highest recorded PaCO2 was 250 millimeters of mercury, and the lowest arterial pH was 6.72 after 53 minutes of apnea.

Apnea scientific studies
Studies found spleen volume is slightly reduced during short breath-hold apnea in healthy adults.

Apnea test in determining brain death
A recommended practice for the clinical diagnosis of brain death formulated by the American Academy of Neurology hinges on the conjunction of three diagnostic criteria: a coma, absence of brainstem reflexes, and apnea (defined as the inability of the patient to breathe unaided: that is, with no life support systems like ventilators). The apnea test follows a delineated protocol. Apnea testing is not suitable in patients who are hemodynamically unstable with increasing vasopressor needs, metabolic acidosis, or require high levels of ventilatory support. Apnea testing carries the risk of arrhythmias, worsening hemodynamic instability, or metabolic acidosis beyond the level of recovery and can potentially make the patient unsuitable for organ donation (see above). In this situation a confirmatory test is warranted as it is unsafe to perform the apnea test to the patient.

Etymology and pronunciation
The word apnea (or apnoea) uses combining forms of a- + -pnea, from ἄπνοια, from ἀ-, privative, πνέειν, to breathe. See pronunciation information at dyspnea.

title: Apnea


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BoA

Kwon Bo-ah (born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, producer and actress. She is often referred to as the "Queen of K-pop".

Born and raised in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, BoA was discovered by SM Entertainment talent agents when she accompanied her older brother, a music video director, to a talent search in 1998. She was trained for two years and made her debut with ID; Peace B (2000). BoA has since released twenty studio albums, including ten in Korean, nine in Japanese, and one in English. On television, she appeared as a judge on the reality competition show K-pop Star (2011–2013), as an actress on the television drama Listen to Love (2016), as a host for the second season of Produce 101 (2017), and as a coach for the third season of The Voice of Korea (2020).

With the release of her debut Japanese studio album, Listen to My Heart (2002), BoA became the first South Korean pop star to break through in Japan following the fall of barriers that had restricted the import and export of entertainment between the countries since the end of World War II. Her Japanese albums Valenti (2003) and Best of Soul (2005) went on to sell over one million copies each according to Oricon; the latter of which remained the last album to do so by a non-Japanese artist for 16 years. Her self-titled English album (2009) became the first record by a K-pop artist to appear on the Billboard 200, debuting at number 127.

BoA has sold over ten million albums throughout her career and is one of only three female artists with six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon Albums Chart since her debut, alongside Japanese singers Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada. She is the recipient of numerous awards in South Korea and Japan, including eight MAMA Awards, six SBS Music Awards, five Japan Record Awards, and five Japan Gold Disc Awards. In 2013, Mnet included her in their Legend 100 Artists list of the most influential artists in South Korea.

2000–2003: Debut and commercial success in South Korea and Japan
Kwon Bo-ah was born on November 5, 1986. At the age of eleven, BoA accompanied her older brother to an SM Entertainment talent search. Though her brother was the one who auditioned as a break-dancer, SM talent scouts instead took notice of BoA and offered her a contract on the same night as the auditions. Her parents initially opposed the notion of BoA leaving school to enter the entertainment business but eventually consented at her older brothers' persuasion. She has said that her early influence as a singer was Seo Taiji.

BoA underwent two years of training (involving vocal, dance, English, and Japanese lessons), and at the age of thirteen she released her debut album ID; Peace B in South Korea on August 25, 2000. The album was moderately successful; it entered the Top 10 of the South Korean charts and sold around 156,000 units. Meanwhile, her Korean record label, SM Entertainment, made arrangements with Japanese label Avex Trax to launch her music career in Japan. She was forced to quit school to prepare and in early 2001, BoA released her first mini-album, Don't Start Now; it sold around 90,000 units. After its release, she took a hiatus from the Korean music industry to focus on the Japanese market at which time she worked to solidify her skills in Japanese.

BoA began her Japanese music career singing at the Avex-owned club Velfarre. Her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, was released on March 13, 2002. The album was a breakthrough in BoA's career, becoming an RIAJ-certified million-seller and debuted atop the Oricon, the first album by a Korean artist to do so. It was promoted with several singles: the Top 20 hit "ID; Peace B" (originally from the eponymous album), "Amazing Kiss", "Kimochi wa Tsutawaru", the Top 5 hit "Listen to My Heart", and the Top 10 "Every Heart: Minna no Kimochi". After the September 11, 2001 attacks, BoA recorded the charity single "The Meaning of Peace" with Kumi Koda as part of Avex's Song Nation project to raise funds for charity. From 2001 to 2007, BoA hosted Beat it BoA's World, a radio program on the Japan FM Network.

After the release of Listen to My Heart, BoA released her second Korean studio album, No. 1, a month later on April 12, 2002. The album sold around 544,853 units and became the fourth-best-selling record of the year in South Korea. Jumping into the World (a Japanese re-release of the mini-album Don't Start Now) and the Japanese single "Don't Start Now" were released a month later on the same day. At the end of the year, BoA released her second Korean mini-album Miracle.

BoA's second Japanese studio album, Valenti (January 2003), became her best-selling album, with over 1,249,000 copies sold. Three singles preceded its release: "Valenti", which peaked at the number-two position on the Oricon chart, "Kiseki / No.1" and "Jewel Song / Beside You: Boku o Yobu Koe", both which also peaked at the number-three position. In support of the album, BoA launched BoA 1st Live Tour Valenti, her first Japanese concert tour. Later in the same year, BoA released her third Korean-language studio album, Atlantis Princess on May 30, 2003, and then released a mini-album Shine We Are! on December 4, 2003. The former was the fifth-best-selling South Korean record of the year with around 345,000 units sold; the latter sold around 58,000 units.

2004–2008: New image, foray into China, and creative control
Her third Japanese studio album, Love & Honesty (January 2004) was a musical "change in direction": it contained a rock-dance song ("Rock with You") and "harder" R&B. Though the album failed to match Valenti in sales, it topped the Oricon chart for two weeks and became RIAJ-certified triple-platinum. In support of the album, BoA held a tour, Live Concert Tour 2004: Love & Honesty, spanning nine performances and attracted approximately 105,000 attendants. In contrast with 1st Live Tour, which "emphasized exotic Asian design", the Love & Honesty tour had an "outer-space, sci-fi" theme; among the props were a three-storey-high space ship and the robot Asimo. Her first compilation album, Best of Soul (February 2005), however, sold over a million copies, making BoA the first non-Japanese Asian singer to have two million-selling albums in Japan. It remained the last album by a foreign artist to have sold over a million copies in Japan for 16 years, until BTS in 2021.

BoA reinvented her image for her fourth and fifth Korean albums, My Name (June 2004) and Girls on Top (June 2005), shedding the "cute" and "youthful" style that had characterized previous years and adopted a more "sexy" and "sultry" look. The sales of BoA's Korean albums began to decline: My Name sold 191,000 units and became the eleventh-best-selling South Korean album in 2004 while Girls on Top ranked fourteenth in 2005 with 113,000 units sold. In September 2004, BoA instigated controversy in Japan when she donated ₩50 million to a memorial project for Korean independence activist and nationalist An Jung-geun.

Her fourth Japanese studio album, Outgrow, (February 2006) reached the number-one spot on the Oricon chart for its first week of release, making it her fourth consecutive original Japanese album to do so. With 220,000 copies sold, it became her lowest-selling first-week debut for a studio album at that point. "Do the Motion", the first single from the album, reached the top spot, making her the fourth non-Japanese Asian to have a number-one single on the Oricon charts. "Merry Christmas from BoA" (2005), the album's last single, was the singer's first digital single. That May, BoA renewed her contract with SM Entertainment until 2012. At the time it was noted that she had a shareholding in the company of 100,000 (Approximately worth $1m USD). She performed "Everlasting", the image song for Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist (2005 film). She also voiced Heather the possum in the Korean and Japanese version of the animated film Over the Hedge. On September 21, 2006, she released her first digital single in Korea, a Korean version of "Key of Heart". In support of Outgrow, BoA launched a special Zepp tour, B0A The Live, on September 29, 2006, which lasted until October 29. She staged her first Christmas concert on December 7, 2006.

Three singles preceded BoA's fifth Japanese studio album, Made in Twenty (January 2007): the Top 3 "Nanairo no Ashita (Brand New Beat)/Your Color," the Top 10 "Key of Heart", and the No. 2 hit "Winter Love". The album, which contained R&B and dance songs as well as ballads, debuted at the top of the weekly Oricon charts, making the album her sixth in a row to do so (including one compilation). Having previously compose the song "No More Make Me Sick" for Made in Twenty, BoA assumed creative control over her sixth Japanese album, The Face (February 2008). The album debuted at the top of the weekly Oricon charts, making BoA one of only two artists in Japan to have six consecutive studio albums top the Oricon weekly charts (the other is Ayumi Hamasaki, who has eight consecutive number-one albums). On June 9, 2008, BoA and nine other artists from around the world recorded an English cover of Wei Wei's "Dedication of Love". Produced by Roald Hoffmann and Brian Alan, the single was used to raise funds for victims of the Sichuan earthquake. But due to a tight schedule, BoA was pulled back from this project. Korean jewelry brand Ramee also released, "Ramee by BoA", a line of jewelry designed by the singer herself.

2008–2012: American expansion and return to Asia
On September 2, 2008, it was announced that BoA would make her American debut under a new subsidiary label, SM Entertainment USA. Hoping to become a "world-renowned entertainer" in the vein of Janet Jackson, BoA's debut American single "Eat You Up", was produced by Thomas Troelsen, and released on October 21, 2008. It charted at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. To promote the single, BoA performed "Eat You Up" as well as other songs at YouTube's Tokyo Live concert, and performed in New York City on December 3, 2008, as well as the Jingle Ball at the Anaheim Honda Center on December 6, 2008. The following year, she released "Eien/Universe/Believe in Love" and was also featured in Ravex's single "Believe in Love".

BoA's self-titled English album was released in the U.S. on March 17 and featured tracks by producers Bloodshy and Avant as well as a duet with Sean Garrett. Her second Japanese compilation album, Best & USA was released on March 18 tying together a compilation of recent hits in Japan with her English-language debut. Though she stated that "[i]t has always been my dream to debut in America," she found English tougher to learn than Japanese and despite living in West Beverly Hills, found it difficult to make friends. BoA later headlined the San Francisco Pride Festival on June 28, 2009, alongside Solange Knowles and The Cliks, where she also performed the song "Energetic" for the first time in public, in addition to "Eat You Up" and "I Did It for Love". On August 31, SM USA released BoA Deluxe, a repackaged version of her debut English album. The album contained two new tracks and the radio edit version of "Energetic".

With her U.S. career struggling to gain traction, BoA returned to East Asia to release her seventh Japanese album, Identity (February 2010). Promoted by the singles "Bump Bump!" featuring Verbal from M-Flo and "Mamoritai: White Wishes" (December 2009), the album only charted at No. 4, selling 37,606 copies in its first week. With little promotion from her label, it ended her run of six consecutive No. 1 albums, suggesting that it would be impossible for her to sustain her career in three territories simultaneously. Her first Korean album in five years, Hurricane Venus, was released on August 5, 2010, and sold 55,776 units making it the 22nd best selling album in South Korea for 2010. She also represented South Korea and performed at the 7th Asia Song Festival, organized by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at the Seoul Olympic Stadium.

BoA made her Hollywood movie debut in the dance film Make Your Move 3D, playing the character Aya opposite Derek Hough. Although production ended in 2011, the film was released in 2013. The movie received mixed reviews, with Inkoo Kang of the Los Angeles Times praising the choreography but stating that "[w]henever actor Derek Hough and BoA stop leaping and twirling, [it] is an underwritten mess." To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her Japanese debut, BoA released "Milestone", which ranked at No. 4 on the Oricon Weekly Music-DVD charts. She also held her 10th anniversary concert on December 10–11 at Tokyo International Forum.

Following the concert, BoA shifted her activities to her native county, joining the judging panel on SBS's audition program K-pop Star as a representative of S.M. Entertainment, alongside Yang Hyun-suk from YG Entertainment and Park Jin-young from JYP Entertainment. BoA received praise for her ability as a judge with her insightful comments and discerning eyes, and also sang the theme song "One Dream". For her seventh Korean album, Only One (July 2012), BoA wrote and composed its title track, while its dance steps choreographed by NappyTabs, who has previously worked with BoA in Cobu. Upon its release, "Only One" achieved an all-kill on several music charts. She followed this up with the second "The Shadow", was released August 18, 2012. Additionally, she recorded the song "Lookin'" featuring The Quiett for Hyundai's 'Premium Younique Lifestyle' campaign.

2013–2015: Music production, television role, and 15th anniversary
BoA launched her first Korean tour with BoA Special Live 2013: Here I Am tour at the Olympic Hall, and released the song "Disturbance", which she wrote and composed, to commemorate her first concert tour in South Korea. In September 2013, BoA starred in KBS' two-episode drama special Expect to Date alongside Choi Daniel and Im Si-wan, her full first role in a drama, following a string of cameo appearances. She received praise for her acting performance. She also participated in Infinity Challenge's bi-annual song festival and was paired with Leessang's Gil, with the two co-produced the song "G.A.B". In March 2014, BoA was appointed as a de facto creative director in S.M. Entertainment, alongside labelmate Kangta; she was placed in charge of mental care of artists who debut at a young age.

The singles for BoA's eighth Japanese album, Who's Back? (September 2014), were released over a span of four years prior to the album's release:"Woo Weekend" and "I See Me" in 2010, "Milestone" in 2011, Only One", "Tail of Hope" and "Message / Call My Name" in 2013, and "Shout It Out"  and "Masayume Chasing" in 2014. To promote the album, she embarked on her BoA Live Tour 2014 Who's Back? tour in September, her first Japanese tour in four years. After the tour concluded, BoA starred in her first Korean film, Big Match alongside Lee Jung-jae and Shin Ha-kyun though a Japanese single "Fly" was released on December 3, 2014.

Her eighth Korean album Kiss My Lips (May 2015) became her first entirely self-written, self-produced album, working alongside American producers The Underdogs and Stereotypes. The single "Who Are You" (feat. Gaeko) was released prior to the album's unveiling, along with its accompanying music video, which starred EXO's Sehun as the male lead. The rest of the album was unveiled on May 12 along with an official music video of the eponymous title track. Billboard called the singer a promising songwriter despite moments of musical blandness.

In July, she performed at the BoA Special Live 2015: Nowness to commemorate her 15th anniversary. The concert took place on August 22 and 23 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in South Korea, making BoA the first female idol to hold a solo concert at the venue. This was followed by BoA Special Live 2015: Nowness in Japan which took place on December 11, 2015, at Tokyo International Forum Hall-A. Her 15th anniversary in Japan the following year was celebrated in a similar fashion, including the release of the song "Lookbook", and a 15th anniversary edition of BoA's Japanese Winter hit, "Meri Kuri". As part of S.M. Entertainment's special winter project, Winter Garden, BoA released a digital single entitled "Christmas Paradise".

2016–present: Musical projects, television production, and acting debut
On January 12, 2016, BoA released an English-language single "Make Me Complete", which serves as the theme song for the Fuji TV special drama Ooku, starring Sawajiri Erika and Watanabe Mayu. In June, she collaborated with Korean rapper Beenzino for S.M. Entertainment's SM Station project. The duo released the single "No Matter What", which ranked atop five domestic charts. BoA worked with BeatBurger for another SM Station single titled "Music Is Wonderful", where she participated in the composing and writing of the track. From October to November 2016, BoA starred in JTBC's romance melodrama Listen to Love, returning to the small screen after three years.

The following year, BoA became one of the producers for Mnet's boy group survival reality show, Produce 101 Season 2, which aired from April 7 to June 16. BoA later released another song for SM Station, "Spring Rain", an R&B number produced by Kenzie. In May, BoA embarked on her BoA The live in Billboard Live Tour, held in Tokyo and Osaka. She also released the single "Camo," a dance song with a heavy emphasis on bass and synthesizer sounds, which was a change in sound from her previous materials and produced by The Underdogs. In July, she released the Japanese single "Right Here, Right Everywhere" for the soundtrack of drama Yaneura no Koibito. She later starred in the film Autumn Sonata alongside Lee Hak-joo, playing a terminally ill patient.

In 2018, BoA returned to Japan and released her ninth Japanese album Watashi Konomama de Iinokana on February 14, 2018, followed by EP Unchained in March. To accompany the release of the EP, she embarked on the BoA The Live 2018: Unchained Tour from March 15 to April 4. People who attend the concerts received a copy of Unchained. On January 31, she released "Nega Dola", which served as a single for BoA's then-upcoming first extended play. The EP, One Shot, Two Shot, was released on February 20, alongside its titular lead single and the song's music video. The EP peaked at number six at the South Korean Gaon Album Chart and number seven at the Billboard World Albums Chart. On October 24, she released her ninth Korean album Woman alongside a lead single of the same name. The album peaked at number six at the Gaon Album Chart, number eleven at the Billboard World Albums Chart.

On June 4, 2019, she released the single "Feedback", which features rapper Nucksal, alongside the song's music video. BoA embarked on her #Mood Tour, which had six dates in Japan and two dates in Seoul, from September to October 2019. On October 23, she released a new Japanese single, "Wishing Well", which she earlier debuted on the tour. On December 11, 2019, she released her second extended play Starry Night.

In May 2020, BoA was featured as one of the coaches for the third season of The Voice of Korea, alongside Dynamic Duo, Sung Si-kyung, and Kim Jong-kook. On December 1, 2020, she released her tenth Korean album Better. SpoTV News shared BoA to join as a judge for Mnet Dance program "Street Woman Fighter". It is a female dance crew competition premiering in August 2021. On November 5, 2021, BoA released the Japanese single, "My Dear", to commemorate her 20th anniversary.

BoA was revealed as a member of the supergroup Got the Beat on December 27, 2021. The group debuted on January 3, 2022. To celebrate her 20th anniversary, BoA released the Japanese compilation album The Greatest on May 30, 2022. On November 8, 2022, BoA announced her third EP Forgive Me along with the title track on the same name on November 22, 2022. In 2024, BoA appeared in the drama Marry My Husband, where she played Oh Yu-ra. Her performance in the drama was met with negative reviews.

Image and artistry

BoA lists hip hop as her main musical influence, though she also enjoys R&B. Her favorite musicians are Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and Ne-Yo; as a result, much of BoA's music is either dance-pop or R&B. Because she also sings ballads, she is often compared to Japanese singers Namie Amuro and Ayumi Hamasaki. Her debut album, ID; Peace B, contained urban pop, "slickly produced" ballads, and "upbeat dance tunes". As her career went on, she began experimenting with different styles: Valenti contained mostly ballads; Love and Honesty was an experiment with "harder" R&B and rock music.

Though her earlier releases were marked by a "cute" and "youthful" style, BoA began to present a more "mature" image starting from the album My Name. In a Talk Asia interview, Anjali Rao noted that some felt that My Name marked the beginning of BoA's decline in popularity and asked if the public would always see the singer as "Little Baby BoA"; BoA replied, "So while I apologize to those people who still want the baby BoA, in fact, what can I do? I just keep growing up! I can't stop that from happening."

The Face was influenced by electropop and included "happy spring" songs ("Sweet Impact" and "Bad Drive"), a guitar-driven "groovy dance" song ("Lose Your Mind"), and ballads. Because the composition and writing of BoA's songs is handled mostly by her staff, BoA has been criticized as being a "manufactured pop star". In response to such criticism, BoA said that "if one person were to force their own will on something, then things that should have gone right could easily go wrong" and that she is "not all that unhappy with the expression that [she is] a manufactured star. In a way, that is true. Because SM Entertainment created the environment and all the surrounding conditions, [she is] able to be successful in the way [she is] now." She later assumed creative control with The Face, while Kiss My Lips became her first entirely self-written, self-produced album.

BoA has collaborated with high-profile artists. Among the Japanese artists she has performed with are the hip hop group M-Flo (for the single "The Love Bug"), pop singer Kumi Koda, and house DJ Mondo Grosso. She has performed with Western artists: the song "Flying Without Wings" from her album Next World was a collaboration with Irish band Westlife covering the original song; the Bratz single "Show Me What You Got" was performed with Howie D of the American band Backstreet Boys. She also worked with Akon, singing the song "Beautiful", which was featured on the Japanese release of his third album, Freedom. Other artists she has collaborated with are Soul'd Out, Dabo, Verbal (of M-Flo), Rah-D, Seamo, TVXQ, Yutaka Furakawa (of the band Doping Panda), and Crystal Kay (for her single "After Love: First Boyfriend/Girlfriend"). American rock band Weezer covered "Meri Kuri" on the Japanese version of their album Weezer.

Cultural impact and legacy
BoA is regarded as one of South Korea's most influential and prominent singers and is widely referred to as the "Queen of K-pop", in recognition of her contributions in spearheading the Korean wave into Japan. BoA's success in the Japanese market has been deemed a catalyst in the Japanese interest in Korean pop music beginning in the early 2000s, when the two countries began promoting cultural exchanges since the end of World War II. Music critics have recognized BoA for improving "civil relations between the Korean and Japanese public through her music and appearances in Japanese radio and television", with Oxford Political Review noting "BoA's role in strengthening Japan-South Korea ties as a cultural envoy". In Alisa Freedman's Introducing Japanese Pop Culture, BoA was noted for "herald[ing] a new phase of Japanese engagement with Korean singers", registering "remarkable success during the first half of the 2000s in Japan". She highlighted that the timing of her success coincided with several political and cultural developments; these of which include the implementation of Korea's Open-Door Policy, the Korea Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup, and the popularity of the drama series Winter Sonata. Freedman evaluated BoA's career path and localization strategies in Japan for having set "the first trend" of the Korean wave into the country.

Vox hailed BoA as "one of South Korea's best-known exports" in the years after her debut while The Korea Times called BoA "the forerunner of the new generation of idols who popularized K-pop in Japan and elsewhere." In 2004, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism honored BoA with the Asian Cultural Exchange Merit Award for her contributions in raising the status of K-pop throughout Asia. The Diplomat stated that BoA "paved the way" for future K-pop artists "to later captivate Japanese fans despite souring relations between Seoul and Tokyo." Music critic Lim Jin-mo wrote that BoA "opened many doors for pop acts from her country in the second largest music market in the world", acting "as a figurehead for breakthroughs in Japan for South Korean acts" and became "a pivotal figure in K-pop's history". Yim Hyun-su from The Korea Herald viewed her for "forever changing the landscape of South Korea's music industry". In 2016, she was honored with the Presidential Commendation at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards for her contributions to the spread of the Korean wave, and for laying "the foundation for the revival of K-pop".

In 2013, 50 music experts, professors and critics organized by Mnet named BoA one of the 100 most influential artists in South Korean music. "No. 1" was ranked number 27 in a 2006 Gallup Korea survey of 100 all-time favorite Korean songs and was included in Mnet's Legend 100 list of popular Korean songs since the 1960s. In 2021, a panel of 35 music experts organized by Melon and Seoul Shinmun ranked "No. 1" and "Atlantis Princess" number 1 and number 93 in their list of the greatest K-pop songs of all time. Critic Rhian Daly for The Forty-Five ranked "Atlantis Princess" number 1 in her list of the best K-pop songs of all-time. Rolling Stone ranked "No. 1" at number 18 in their list of the greatest songs in the history of K-pop, writing it represents "her most emblematic crossover hit".

BoA has been cited by many artists in the South Korean music industry as an influence and role model, including Aespa, Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Seohyun, Shinee's Key, Exo's Sehun, Red Velvet's Irene, Ailee, Chungha, Yukika Teramoto, Kwon Eun-bi, Baek A-yeon, Mamamoo's Solar, f(x)'s Luna, Kiss of Life's Natty, Lovelyz's Kei, and Billlie's Tsuki. Aespa's Giselle said in a Rolling Stone interview that "Everyone knows her. She's not just famous — she's a legend".

Endorsements
Because of her wide appeal, BoA has appeared in advertisements for many brands. Among the brands she has promoted are Olympus, Lotte, Nike, L'Oréal, Japanese cosmetic company Kosé, Skechers, Audio-Technica,  GM Daewoo and L'Occitane. Several of her songs have been used in affiliation with television shows. "Every Heart: Minna no Kimochi" was used as the ending theme for the anime InuYasha; "Beside You: Boku o Yobu Koe" was used as the opening theme for the anime Monkey Typhoon; "Key of Heart" was the theme song for the Japanese release of Over the Hedge; "Your Color" was the theme song of the video game Ninety-Nine Nights; "Mamoritai: White Wishes" was the theme song of the video game Tales of Graces. "Tail of Hope" was used as the theme for the Japanese drama Hakui no Namida, and "Masayume Chasing" was used as the 15th opening theme song for the anime Fairy Tail.

In 2007, Anycall (a Samsung brand) signed BoA, Xiah (of TVXQ), Tablo (of Epik High), and jazz pianist Jin Bora onto "Anyband", a band created specifically to promote Anycall. The band released only one single, "AnyBand". In December 2010, she recorded "I See Me" for to promote Audio Technica headphones in Japan. The song "Woo Weekend" was used to promote Disney on Ice's 25th Anniversary in Japan while "Lookbook" served as the ending theme for the NTV Kei program Tokui to Goto to Uruwashi no Shelley ga Konya Kurabete Mimashita. BoA served as ambassador for Asia Youth Day in 2014. In August 2017, it was announced that BoA was chosen as promotional ambassador for Jeju Biennale, an inaugural international art event on the resort island of Jeju. In Her widespread popularity has also made her a "cultural ambassador"; she has represented South Korea in inter-Asian musical events and has appeared in an Oxford University Press-published English-language textbook.

Discography
Korean albums
 * ID; Peace B (2000)
 * No. 1 (2002)
 * Atlantis Princess (2003)
 * My Name (2004)
 * Girls on Top (2005)
 * Hurricane Venus (2010)
 * Only One (2012)
 * Kiss My Lips (2015)
 * Woman (2018)
 * Better (2020)

Japanese albums
 * Listen to My Heart (2002)
 * Valenti (2003)
 * Love & Honesty (2004)
 * Outgrow (2006)
 * Made in Twenty (2007)
 * The Face (2008)
 * Identity (2010)
 * Who's Back? (2014)
 * Watashi Kono Mama de Ii no Kana (2018)

English albums
 * BoA (2009)

Japan tours

 * 2003: First Live Tour 2003 – Valenti
 * 2004: Live Tour 2004 – Love & Honesty
 * 2005: Arena Tour 2005 – Best of Soul
 * 2006: The Live "Ura BoA... Kikase Kei (The Other Side of BoA... Listen)"
 * 2007: Arena Tour 2007 – Made in Twenty (20)
 * 2007: The Live 2007 "X'mas"
 * 2008: Live Tour 2008 – The Face
 * 2009: The Live 2009 "X'mas"
 * 2010: Live Tour 2010 – Identity
 * 2010: The Live 2010 "X'mas"
 * 2011: The Live 2011 "X'mas" – The 10th Anniversary Edition
 * 2014: Live Tour 2014 "Who's back?"
 * 2018: The Live 2018 〜Unchained〜

Asia tours

 * 2013: Special Live 2013 – Here I am
 * 2015: Special Live 2015 – Nowness
 * 2022: BoA 20th Anniversary: The Greatest Live
 * 2022: The BoA: Musicality

Concert participation

 * 2002: SM China
 * 2003: SMTOWN Smile Concert 2003
 * 2007: 2007 SMTOWN Summer Concert
 * 2008: SMTown Live '08
 * 2009: BEST & USA Release Party: Thank Your For Your Support!
 * 2010–11: SMTown Live '10 World Tour
 * 2012–13: SMTown Live World Tour III
 * 2014–2015: SM Town Live World Tour IV
 * 2016: SM Town Live World Tour V
 * 2017: SM Town Live World Tour VI
 * 2022: SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express at Kwangya
 * 2022: SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express
 * 2023: SM Town Live 2023: SMCU Palace at Kwangya

title: BoA