[6][7] The shrine was established at the initiative of the Japan San Marino Friendship Society (JSFS) in commemoration of the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

[12] In the shrine area there are also a torii (portal), a pair of tōrō (lanterns) and a small Chōzuya (ablution fountain), all very frequent elements in Shinto architecture.

[13] The shine of San Marino consists of a small square-based monument with a side of 2.5 meters and made in Japan with cedar wood.

The main hall was built in Japan, dismantled and transported by sea to San Marino, where it was rebuilt by Japanese architects on a foundation made of typical sandstone.

The Shrine of San Marino is consecrated to the kami Amaterasu, who in the Shinto pantheon personifies the deity of the Sun, the primary source of life on Earth.