Yasukuni Shrine - Research Paper Example

Yasukuni Shrine The contention and controversy of the Yasukuni Shrine is one of the most discussed topics about Modern Japan. By the reaction of international community against the visits of Japanese politicians and government officials to the shrine have made it an important ingredient in the political and religious scenario of Japan. Since 1970s these visits have sparked controversy and for many to see respect being paid to Class A war criminals of World War 2 is being considered very offensive to the nations that face the aggression of the Imperial Japan. With Japan’s former Prime Minister Koizumi visiting the shrine, this controversy has been given new life and limelight (Okuyama 2009) The Yasukani Shrine is one of the most controversial shrines in the world. It is a Shinto Shrine that is situated in the Chiyoda district in the capital of Japan, Tokyo. The reason for its controversy is that this shrine was built as a dedication to all the Japanese Soldiers who died fighting in World War 2 on the orders of the Emperor of Japan (Yasukuni Shrine 2008). The Symbolic Registry of Divinities has listed about 2460000 men and women who died for the Imperial Japan. The souls that are enshrined here include all of those who have served the interest of the Imperial Japan since the year 1983. This will include the national crisis like the Boshin War, Seinan war and also wars with other countries like Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars. The most controversial aspect of this shrine is that it also has the souls of soldiers who were killed during the active duty during the World Wars (Yasukuni Shrine 2008). The Yasukani Jani houses the souls of the soldiers as “kami” which means spirits when translated into English. It is the belief of the Shinto that once a soul is enshrined, its sins are absolved and all the negative acts that it committed are forgiven. It must be stated here that this is a totally religious matter as in Japan the Religion and state were separated since 1945. Also the matter of enshrinement is decided autonomously by the priests. The priests hold the belief that once a soul has been enshrined it cannot be reversed (Rogers 2005). The location of the Yasukuni Jani was first named as Tokyo Shokonsha. This location was chosen by Meiji Emporer. It was first established to help commemorate the men and women who had died in the Boshin War that resulted in the power restoration of the Meiji. The shrine is among the many that were built under the government sanction Shinto program throughout Japan. Since 1879 the shrine has been named as the Yasukuni Jinja (Ponsonby-Fane 1963; Yasukuni Shrine 2008). It has now become the principal shrine to commemorate the dead who have sacrificed their lives for Japan and its interest. When World War 2 ended, the United States and the Occupation Authorities issued what is now called the Shinto Directive. This directive ensured that the state and the religion was separated in Japan. This obviously had an impact on the Yasukuni Shrine. It was pressurized that either the shrine be declared a religious institution that will not be dependent on the Government or it can itself become a secular government institution. It was then decided by the general masses that the shine will become a private institution that will be privately funded. Since the year 1946 the shrine has been operating privately (Tetsuya 2008). There is no person buried in the Shrine. This is of the essence as only the souls are enshrined here. There are no ashes, graves or bones of any soldiers here. The priests here only perform purification traditions for the souls of the dead. So the issue arose from the fact that there are many souls enshrined here that are considered to be World War 2 criminals. This enshrinement started in 1959 by the enshrining of 1068 souls that were either Class B or Class C criminals and were declared so before their execution by the tribunals of the Allied Forces. Then in 1978 the kami of fourteen soldiers was enshrined in the shrine that is categorized as Class A war criminals which include Hideki Tojo. The Japanese point of view on the matter is that the Class A war criminals have already paid their debt and have been punished adequately. They are of the view that if the souls are condemned then what will happen to them in the afterlife. (Takenaka 2007) It must be stated here that when the San Francisco Treaty was signed the newly established Japanese Government requested the allied forces to pardon their war criminals. By then only five of the total criminals remained. The Allied Forces complied and allowed them to be pardoned. The Nationalist Government of China later signed an accord with Japan that is called Treaty of Taipei in which it clearly agreed to all the terms of San Francisco Treaty and also all the articles of it (Rogers 2005). Another aspect of the shrine that has made it controversial is that the Yasukuni Shrine also has a museum that is called Yushukan which is dedicated to the Japanese Soldiers. The museum has many dioramas and displays that are relevant to the wars that led to the restoration of the Meiji and also has many displays on the Satsuma Rebellion. But a visitor will see that most of the museum has been fundamentally celebrating the sacrifices of the Japanese Soldiers in the World War 2. This museum has also been subjected to controversy as many critics now say that the museum depicts only revised version of the events of the World War 2. It shows Japan as a liberator of Asia and not the atrocities that its soldiers committed in the course of war. The impression that the museum gives us of Kamikaze pilots or the war stories is that of gallant and brave soldiers who fought for their country when they were provoked by the allied countries. The overall tone of the museum is unapologetic according to its critics about the colonist and nationalistic agenda of the Imperial Japan in the War (Yasukuni Shrine 2008). The Japanese view on the matter is that the visits by the Prime Ministers to the shrine reflect the strong and determined conviction of Japan for constant peace and persistent prosperity which would not have been possible if it weren’t for the Japanese soldiers and their sacrifices. The visits to the Yasukani Shrine are primarily to mourn and remember the soldiers and pay respects in the most befitting manner for they laid down their lives on the battlefield for their country. The visits are an act of reaffirmation of the peace and prosperity of the country and to ensure that Japan remains true to its pledge of not go to war again (Shelden 2008). Japan has always said that it is erroneous on the part of criticizing countries to say that the Prime Ministers that visit the Shrine are using it as an act to glorify the country’s militarism that result in many atrocities. The Country has specified it very clearly that the only purpose or the aim of the the visits is to relay the gratitude the country feels for its dead soldiers and also to many civilians that have lost their lives in the course of the wars that the country has been involved in. It must be stated here that Japan agreed to the finding of the military tribunal of the Far East and the visits are not to commend the A class criminals only as the souls in the shrine are treated equally and as one (Shelden 2008). Japan realizes that it has a pivotal role in creating colonial rule by using aggression that resulted in damage and destruction at the level that was tremendous and considerable. Japan has many times said that it realizes what it has done and faces it with humility and remorse and offers it apologies (Shelden 2008). Three countries remain the most agitated by the visits of the Prime Minister to the shrine. These include China, South Korea and North Korea. For average Japanese this is hard to understand for what a person does in his country should not be a concern for others. But the fact is that Japanese Prime Minsters have been ardently visiting the shrine since very long and it is in fact a custom which has been going on since the end of war (Takenaka 2007.) The complaints of these countries started when Japan felt the economic boom in the periods of the 1960s and 1970s. It wasn’t until 1985 when Japanese Prime Minsiter, Masayuki Ohira visited the shrine for a record number of 3 times. This was the starting point of the criticism. But since Mr Ohira was a catholic, it was deemed that it symbolized the revival of the old militarism in Japan like in the days leading to World War 2 (Shelden 2008). This is erroneous as the state and religion in Japan have been separated since the World War 2. And as mentioned earlier the Shrine is no longer under the state and is in fact autonomous. In addition it is illegal by the law to donate to the shrine by the state. And the Prime Minister just like any citizen has the right to visit where he pleases (Okuyama 2009). But the fact is that the Shrine has been the center of the controversy and has deep rooted political implications for Japan and its neighboring countries, since 1975 when the Prime Minster Miki Takeo visited the Shrine on August 15th, the day on which Japan remembers the end of World War 2. This was obviously not accepted by the Chinese government and also by the two Koreas as they saw this as an act to legitimize what was done during the World War 2. Also the visits by the former Prime Minster Mr. Junichiro Koizumi who visited the shrine six times received condemnation and criticism by the neighboring countries (Shelden 2008). South Korea also shows resentment against the shrine that was evident from the former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung who was very particular in his criticism against the Japanese politicians and their visits to the shrine. He was of the opinion that if the Class A war criminals are removed from the shrine or are removed to a different location, then maybe the condemnation that comes for the visits may end (Shelden 2008). The Chinese Government has been one of the loudest critics of the shrine. For many years the Chinese school systems has integrated the atrocities that were committed during the Sino Japanese war and also in World War 2 and the shrine is seen as a testament to the power of the Imperial Japan. But Japanese authorities have stated that this resentment of the Chinese government is based on the politics of China and its relations with Japan that see fluctuations from time to time. It is true that the Chinese are still freshly reminded about the actions of the Japanese military and also of the consequences of the actions but the state tolerance against the public outrage in opposition to the shrine is muted compared to other public demonstrations that are conducted for other issues germane to the domestic situation in China (Tetsuya 2008). Some observers are also of the view that the criticism that the shrine receives is irrelevant and biased. Their argument lies in the fact that if the shrine is an act of legitimizing the actions of the war criminals, then what about the US president visits to the Arlington Graveyards (Rogers 2005). When a small contingent of politicians from European countries visited the Shrine they were in favor of the shrine. The group also included France’s Jean-Marie Le Pen who quoted that when there is a discussion about war criminals, it should be remembered that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were also part of the same country and the people who dropped the boom should also be considered war criminals (BBC Asia Pacific 2010). Work Cited BBC Asia-Pacific. Le Pen among Euro rightists in Japan WWII shrine visit. BBC News. 14 Aug. 2012.. Web. 6 Jul. 2012. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10973225 Okuyama, Michiaki. The Yasukuni Shrine Problem In The East Asian Context. Nagoya, Japan: Religion and Politics in Modern Japan. Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture. 2009 Web. 6 Jul. 2012 www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina3_broj2/Analiza%201.pdf Ponsonby-Fane, Richard A. B. The Vicissitudes of Shinto. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society, 1963. Print. Rogers, Mike. Yasukuni Shrine. LeeRockwell.com. 8 December 2005. Web. 6 Jul. 2012. . Selden, Mike. Japan, the United States and Yasukuni Nationalism: War, Historical Memory and the Future of the Asia Pacific. The Asia Pacific Jounral. 2008. Web. 6 Jul. 2012. Takenaka, Akiko. Enshrinement Politics: War Dead and War Criminals at Yasukuni Shrine. The Asia Pacific Jounral . 2007. Web. 6 Jul. 2012. Tetsuya, Takahashi. Yasukuni Shrine at the Heart of Japan’s National Debate:History, Memory, Denial. The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus .2008. Web. 6 Jul. 2012. Abiut Yasukuni Shrine. 2008. Web 6 Jul. 2012. . Read More