Nanshu Shrine Electric Lights

A Pair of Cast-Iron Lamps from the Shuseikan

The Nanshu Shrine Electric Lights (南洲神社電燈) is a pair of cast-iron lamps made in 1913 at Nanshu Shrine in Kamiryuocho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, which in 2006 were registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records two iron lamps 4.4 metres high, owned by Nanshu Shrine and registered as a model of design.

The Agency calls them one of the few surviving products of the former Shuseikan works, a foundation of modern Japan.

Structure

According to the Agency, the pair stand on either side of the approach at the top of the stone steps to the worship hall. They are cast iron, 4.4 metres high, with hexagonal shafts, capitals opening in six petals, and mouldings at every joint.

What to Look For

The Kagoshima Shrine Association says Nanshu Shrine enshrines Saigo Takamori and 6,800 soldiers of the Satsuma army, including Kirino Toshiaki. Its first buildings were completed in October 1913.

The shrine buildings were all destroyed in the air raid of 31 July 1945, but the lamps survived. Look at the six-petalled capitals and the mouldings at the joints.

Visiting the Nanshu Shrine Electric Lights

The lamps stand on the approach and can be seen when visiting.

The shrine association notes that on 23 September, the day before the annual festival, a traditional walk visits sites associated with Saigo.