When Shimazu Nariakira, a daimyo of the local Shimazu clan, died in nearby Tsurumaru Castle in 1858, the revered leader was deified as a kami (Shinto deity) and renamed Terukuni-daimyōjin by Japan’s emperor. Terukuni jinja was then established in his honor. Terukuni Shrine has been rebuilt twice after it was heavily damaged during the Satsuma Rebellion (1877) and World War II. In addition to this hall of worship (heiden), there are several other buildings in the complex including a museum about the nearly four centuries of the Satsuma Domain.
