臺北市政府文化局

As you exit Zhongshan metro station and head east along Nanjing East Road, the dense greenery amidst the towering skyscrapers might be somewhat surprising. It’s hard to imagine this area once housed soldiers of the Nationalist Army who came to Taiwan with the ROC government after the war. Even more unimaginable is its earlier identity as the site of the Sanbankyo crematorium and communal cemetery during the Japanese colonial period. It was a funeral in 1919 that forever altered the atmosphere of this place.

In 1918, following the Russo-Japanese War, Akashi Motojirō became the seventh Governor-General of Taiwan. During his tenure, major infrastructure projects such as the Sun Moon Lake Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Chianan Irrigation Canal began. However, the governor fell ill in mid-1919 and returned for treatment to his hometown of Fukuoka, where he died in October. In fulfillment of his final wishes, Akashi’s remains were brought back to his beloved Taiwan and buried in the communal cemetery at Sanbankyo.

On 4 November 1919, Governor-General Akashi’s coffin passed through the city streets to the cemetery at Sanbankyo, where it was interred after a ceremonial service. Despite serving barely over a year as governor-general, he had left his mark through his numerous inspection tours across Taiwan. In 1920, Den Kenjirō, the eighth governor-general, built a torii (a traditional Japanese gate) at the site to symbolize the transition into the spiritual realm for those who walked through it as they approach the grave.

Time passed. In 1949, soldiers from the 50th Army of the Nationalist Army arrived in Taiwan. Seeking a place to settle, they built a military dependents’ village directly on the cemetery grounds. A public restroom was even constructed next to Akashi Motojirō’s grave. It was not until 1997, during the construction of Linsen Park, that the torii—once relegated to a laundry area—was restored to public view.

Today, as you step into Linsen North Road’s expansive lawn, you will see two torii: one large and one small. The larger gate belongs to Governor Akashi Motojirō’s grave, while the smaller one marks the grave of his secretary, Kamata Masatake. Their tombstones, once repurposed as building materials, are now preserved in the Taiwan Historica archives.

As you stand before these torii and then walk through them, it feels like entering another realm. Here, in the heart of the city, lies a boundary between the mortal world and the world of the spirit, a poignant intersection of history and divinity.