The Yasukuni Shrine

With our Japanese Culture class, we traveled to the Yasukuni Shrine today. The shrine is notorious for the controversy that surrounds it. Analogous to Arlington Cemetery in the United States, the shrine is dedicated to all those who have died fighting in the name of the emperor.

The shrine rouses controversy as, in honoring the spirits of those who have fallen in battle in the emperor's name, it subsequently honors about 1000 Prisoners of War who were executed for war crimes during World War II. Furthermore, "14 Class A war criminals . . . were quietly enshrined as the 'Martyrs of Showa,'" and the controversy truly erupted when this was revealed to the public by the media. Nations who had suffered under Japanese military aggression, including China and Korea, saw the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism and conservative national pride. In response to the outcry from such countries and Japanese peace groups, the emperor stopped visiting, and his successor has not visited to date. Strong opinion is expressed by many groups for the emperor to continue visits.

Prime ministers have not, however, restricted their visits. Current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited five times, despite the fact that visits by Japanese prime ministers to Yasukuni has led to "official condemnation by neighboring countries." Their visits are seen as an attempt to support Japan's past militarism. Additionally, the way in which historical events are presented in the shrine's museum have been called into question.

Events such as the Rape of Nanking are denied, and Japan is constantly portrayed as a victim of circumstance, particularly due to Western influence. "A pamphlet published by the shrine says: 'War is a really tragic thing to happen, but it was necessary in order for us to protect the independence of Japan and to prosper together with Asian neighbors.'" The pamphlet also defends "Japanese POWs executed for war crimes" saying that they were '"cruelly and unjustly tried" by a "sham-like tribunal of the Allied forces."'

On a lighter note, the Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3) Festival is just around the corner, at which children aged seven, five and three dress up traditionally and go to the shrines. This being the case, we spotted little ones like the one below dolled up all over the shrine grounds.

Well, that was a refreshing break. The kamikaze plane presented below was dropped off a larger airship and was only equipped with enough fuel to propel it for nine seconds, presumably enough for the pilot to make it to his target and take his own life. There were other examples of suicide workings as well. What we at first thought was a torpedo because of its slenderness was actually a single-manned submarine that was to be guided into enemy ships. Also, a small sculpture depicted a technology that was in testing when the war broke out, and was never perfected. A man in an aquatic suit would wait in the water for enemy ships, whereupon he would stab an explosive attached to the end of a bamboo pole into the vessel, killing himself and hopefully dooming the men on board. The plaque said that many soldiers' lives were lost in the development of this method.

The controversy around the Yasukuni Shrine is obvious, and though many suggestions have been made to make it more politically correct, Japan has made very few concessions. Visiting such a blatantly contentious site was quite compelling.

Reference: Wikipedia