Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社)

Below you can see pictures from my trip to Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社) – literally “peaceful country” in Japanese. Located about 20 minutes from where I live, Yasukuni Shrine continues to be a politically charged, controversial site.

Originally built in 1869 by the Meiji Emperor to commemorate those who died in the Bonshin war (1268-69) between the Tokugawa Shogunate and pro-imperial forces, Yasukuni Shrine has now come to be Japan’s wartime memorial, enshrining those who have died for the emperor in past wars.

As of 2004, the Yasukuni Shrine Book of Souls lists the names of 2,466,532 people who are enshrined at the site. This is a symbolic enshrinement of one’s soul; no actual bodily remains are kept in the shrine. Of these 2,466,532, 15 members were convicted of class-A war crimes in the Tokyo war tribunals following WWII.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits the shrine annually and pays his respect to Japan’s fallen war heroes. Just last week, the current frontrunner in September’s prime minister race, Shinzo Abe, visited the Tokyo shrine as well. However, the Emperor of Japan ceased visiting the shrine in protest after the class-A war criminals were enshrined in the postwar era.

Whenever a Japanese politician visits Yasukuni Shrine, citizens in Korea and China protest and demonstrate in the streets. They believe that these visits are evidence of Japan’s revisionist war history and a lack of remorse over colonial rule in China and Korea, and wartime atrocities such as the Rape of Nanking.

I trudged up a hill leading to the shrine grounds, sweat pouring down me due to the 96 degree sun. I was not alone. I passed a line of parked tour busses that ran the entire length of the hill. These days, Yasukuni Shrine is one of Tokyo’s main tourist attractions due entirely to the political controversy that surrounds the site. Yasukuni Shrine was no different from any of the shrines and temples I visited in Kyoto; There was an ablution pavilion to clean your hands and mouth, an alter where you could donate money and pray, a garden that displayed beautiful flower arrangements, and vending machines as far as the eye could see.

Next to the shrine is the Yasukuni Shrine War Museum; Japan’s premiere wartime (revisionist) history museum. The museum was indeed a patriotic and nationalistic look at Japan’s involvement in wars and global conflict. I would not say that the museum is revisionist, because the exhibits do not deny or revise painful historical events. Rather, I would say that the museum is excusionist. That is, the museum seeks to justify (often with very thin logic) and give excuses for why Japan acted the way it did in many global conflicts.

The courtyard outside the museum had a statue of a young bomber pilot striking a gallant pose, while another statue was a mother cradling her “children of Japan.” Statues inside the museum depicted a lone Japanese soldier, while another showed a platoon of wounded friends lending each other a helping hand. Are these statues overly patriotic? You bet! Are they any different in tone from the “Iwojima Memorial” statue in Washington DC? I personally didn’t think so.

The museum has numerous showrooms with replicas of wartime bomber planes, artillery shells, gun turrets, tanks, and weaponry. More interesting however, are the quotes that dangle from the ceiling on giant illuminated plaques that ask soldiers to die for the emperor and possess the yamato (samurai) spirit.

Showrooms in the museum also take the visitor through each of Japan’s major conflicts. One room presents information about colonizing Korea and Japan’s “desire to see the country liberated.” Plaques leading up to the wall-length panel on the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor discuss Japan’s dire economic situation, and a map shows how foreign nations (represented by colorful arrows) were all encroaching on Japan’s backyard.

Moreover the notion of denying Pearl Harbor or prewar imperialism, I would say that the Yasukuni Museum seeks to present excuses for why Japan acted the way it did and asks the visitor to sympathize with the country, asking “what would you have done if you were in our shoes?” Whether you choose to sympathize with the Japan that is presented in the museum is entirely up to you. I don’t. Japan did a lot of very horrible things in the world, this much is clear. But, Japan has also been an entirely peaceful, socially minded, beneficial contributor to the world community for over 60 years now. While it is important that we never forget history (or be doomed to repeat it), we must also believe in and look towards the future and respect that people and the times can change.

It seems to me that these days, too many people and too many nations are presenting excuses and evoking past sympathy to further their own private aims and conflicts. It’s up to everyone to individually weigh the facts, make their own decisions, and fly their flags in support respectively, be they protest leaflets or votes. Don’t let a war museum or the latest headline on the six o’clock evening news tell you what to think. Research the facts and make up your own mind; that’s what free citizens are supposed to do.

B.E.W.