Taiwan was ruled by the Japanese for 50 and a half years (Apr 1895 - Oct 1945), and during that time they built many Shinto shrines in various parts of the island.
What happened to them?
The biggest one of all, the Taiwan Grand Shrine, burned down in 1944 when a cargo plane crashed in the mountain above it and started a fire. Sometime after the KMT retook Taiwan, they cleared the area out and built the Grand Hotel on the site. All that's left is a pair of bronze bulls, which now rest quietly in front of the museum in 228 Park.
Here's one of the bronze bulls:
And here's Taiwan Grand Shrine back in its heyday:
Nearby, to the east, was another shrine, but it was converted into the Taipei Martyrs' Shrine, and looks nothing like a Japanese temple, but more like a Chinese imperial hall transplanted out of the Forbidden City. Indeed, after World War II, the remaining shrines were torn down, left to crumble into ruins, or converted into Chinese martyrs' shrines, and now bear little resemblance to anything Japanese.
Except for one.
It's in Taoyuan, and it makes a worthwhile visit if you happen to be stuck in this dismal city. It was the To-en Shrine (桃園神社) during the Japanese occupation, but it was converted by the KMT into the Taoyuan Martyrs' Shrine. Remarkably, unlike the other converted shrines, it was left intact and has been kept in excellent condition. It's the only remaining fully intact Japanese shrine in Taiwan. (The Martyr's Shrine in Chiayi is partly intact, but the main hall burned down in 1994 and was replaced by an ugly modern tower. And the Ogon Shrine (黃金神社) in Jinguashi (金瓜石) is a ruin.)
Robert asked our Taiwanese friend Brian why this temple was left intact. Brian says "We evicted the Japanese ghosts and let the Chinese ghosts move in."
