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Named by Emperor Meiji to 'pacify the nation' — 2.46 million souls are enshrined at this Kudan sanctuary that remains at the center of national debate

Guardian of 108 Edo neighborhoods — now the anime-ema sanctuary of Akihabara

The non-religious national cemetery along the moat where 214,000 unknown war dead rest — a cherry-blossom landmark with an official government memorial ceremony each autumn

Japan's largest castle — built by Ota Dokan in 1457, Ieyasu's seat for 260 years, now the Imperial Palace at Tokyo's heart

Willows planted by Ota Dokan, and an 'Otanuki-san' raccoon deity beloved by Shogun Tsunayoshi's mother for advancement

The Hibiya Park site where Date Masamune, the 'One-Eyed Dragon of Oshu,' drew his last breath in 1636 — marked today by a memorial stone amid the greenery

The Sanno shrine revered by Ieyasu as Edo's tutelary deity — the prestigious Sanno Festival was viewed by the shogun himself

Tenmangu founded by Ota Dokan inside Edo Castle — scholars and politicians from the nearby Diet still visit to pray to Michizane

Founded in 1880 as 'Tokyo's Ise Shrine' — the very first shrine in Japan to perform Shinto wedding ceremonies, now the capital's foremost matchmaking sanctuary

The slope where Okubo Toshimichi was assassinated in 1878 — marking the end of all three great heroes of the Meiji Restoration