Memorial Monument for Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa

In Meiji 28 (1895 AD), Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa led an army to take over Taiwan, staying at the old Keelung Customs barracks from June 4th to 9th. After Prince Kitashirakawa died of illness in Tainan on October 28th of the same year, the Japanese built a local history museum next to the barracks and erected a stele on its left side to commemorate his achievements. When Taiwan was ceded to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War, Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa was one of the Japanese generals dispatched to take control of Taiwan. After the Qing Dynasty's defeat by Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, ceding Taiwan and Penghu to Japan. Japan immediately sent troops to Taiwan for takeover but encountered armed resistance from the Taiwanese residents. After the Republic of Formosa was established, led by Tang Ching-sung, Prince Yoshihisa led the Imperial Guard Division to invade Taiwan, commencing the months-long Resistance War against Japan (Yi-wei War). One week after attacking Tainan, Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa died of malaria in his residence. During the 50 years of Japanese rule in Taiwan, Prince Yoshihisa was deified. Tainan Shrine was built at his “place of demise,” with Prince Yoshihisa as the principal deity. Another account suggests that Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa was killed by a combined Japanese-Formosan militia at Niupu Mountain in Hsinchu, having been shot dead, but the Japanese military concealed the news of his death. Because Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa stayed at the old Keelung Customs barracks when he led his army to take over Taiwan, a memorial stele for Prince Yoshihisa was erected in the area. The body of the Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa Memorial Stele is made of concrete with a washed-pebble finish. The main stele body has an octagonal cross-section (a square with its four corners cut off), is approximately 3 meters high, and is visibly divided into three sections. The base is wider than the stele body and features military-belt patterned plaster decoration, indicating the identity of the person being commemorated. Three corner moldings separate the stele body from its top, which tapers slightly to a conical projection. This memorial stele was only discovered in recent years, but due to a lack of proper maintenance, parts of it have been damaged over the years. *For detailed information, please refer to the National Cultural Heritage Network.