See also:
Yasukuni Shrine at Kudan, Tokyo, c. 1910
“Contrivance of Yasukuni-jinja”, Tokyo, c. 1920.

Yasukuni Shrine was established in 1869 by the Meiji Emperor as Tokyo Shōkonsha (“Tokyo Shrine to Invite the Souls”) intending to honor only those who fought for the Imperial cause in the Boshin War leading up to the 1868 Restoration. In 1879, Tokyo Shōkonsha was renamed Yasukuni-jinja (“Shrine to Pacify the Nation”) to also include war dead from the recently-concluded Satsuma Rebellion and subsequent conflicts.

An Extraordinary Festival (Rinjisai) would be convened when official imperial decrees designated new cohorts of fallen servicemen to be elevated and enshrined into the shrine’s Book of Souls. The Rinjisai held at Yasukuni Shrine in late April 1921 was dedicated to the enshrinement of military casualties occurring between 1914 and 1920.

More than 1,450 soldiers and military personnel were enshrined having lost their lives during the Great War (e.g., the Siege of Tsingtao), the Siberian Intervention (1918–1922), and various military and pacification campaigns in Taiwan beginning in 1905.

In 1921, Yasukuni Shrine also completed its massive First Great Torii Gate, which at 25 meters tall was the largest torii in Japan at the time. The wooden torii depicted above reflects the iconic landscape feature.

The Imperial Post issued special pictorial cancels (fūkei-in) specifically for visitors attending the multi-day Rinjisai rites from April 27 through April 30. Collectors would often buy a postcard set on-site and have each card hand-stamped on consecutive days of the festival, explaining why the cards are dated 10.4.27 (April 27) and 10.4.28 (April 28).