Former Outer Garden of Taiwan Shrine (Dazhi)

The outer grounds (外苑, gaien) in which the Taiwan Gokoku Shrine stood — formally the outer garden of the Taiwan Shrine (臺灣神社外苑) — occupied a substantial area in the Dazhi (大直) district of Taipei, surrounding and extending beyond the main shrine precinct. This area was conceived as part of the ambitious Taiwan Grand Shrine (台灣神宮) relocation and expansion project initiated in 1935, which sought to transform the entire Dazhi hillside into a comprehensive sacred and military-ceremonial landscape modeled after the Meiji Shrine's inner and outer garden concept in Tokyo.

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT (1935-1945)

When the decision was made in July 1935 to relocate the Taiwan Grand Shrine approximately 200 meters east to a new site (新境地, shinkyōchi), the Dazhi area was designated as the outer garden zone. The master plan called for the construction of various training halls (修練道場), ceremonial spaces (式典場), athletic facilities (運動場), and martial arts venues including a budōjō (武道場) and archery range (弓道場). Two major facilities were completed within the outer precinct: the Taiwan Gokoku Shrine (台灣護國神社, completed May 1942) and the National Spirit Training Center (國民精神研修所, completed 1938), which served as an indoctrination facility for colonial subjects.

However, the escalation of the Pacific War severely disrupted construction. Many planned facilities were postponed or abandoned as resources were diverted to the war effort. The outer grounds remained partially developed, with completed approach paths (参道), sacred forest plantings (神苑), and basic infrastructure, but lacking the full complement of ceremonial and athletic buildings originally envisioned.

WARTIME USE AND FORCED LABOR

During 1942-1945, the outer grounds took on a grimmer role. The nearby Taihoku No. 6 POW Camp held Allied prisoners of war — almost entirely British servicemen, the first of whom arrived from Singapore in November 1942, joined by a few American and Dutch prisoners in the last months of the war — who were forced to perform earthworks and railroad construction (土木工事與鐵道工事) in the shrine's outer garden area. This forced labor connected the sacred landscape of imperial Shinto memorialization directly to the exploitation of enemy prisoners, a juxtaposition that epitomizes the contradictions of Japan's wartime colonial system.

POST-WAR TRANSFORMATION

After Japan's surrender in August 1945, the entire shrine complex was taken over by ROC authorities. The Shinto religious elements were removed, and the site underwent gradual transformation. The outer grounds area was absorbed into military installations and public parkland. When the main shrine was demolished and rebuilt as the National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine (國民革命忠烈祠) between 1967 and 1969, the surrounding outer garden landscape was reorganized as approach roads, ceremonial plazas, and green spaces serving the new memorial complex.

PRESENT-DAY LANDSCAPE

Today, the former outer grounds area encompasses the broad approach boulevard leading to the Martyrs' Shrine, the surrounding hillside parkland, and adjacent military facilities in the Dazhi area. While no visible Shinto-era structures remain in the outer garden zone, the basic topography and spatial layout — the wide ceremonial approach axis, the relationship between the hillside and the river plain, and the integration of military and memorial functions — still echo the original Japanese colonial planning vision. The area serves as an important but often overlooked component of Taipei's layered colonial and post-colonial memorial landscape.