- The Yasukuni Shrine (Yasukuni-jinja) was builit in 1869 in the Meiji era and was originally christened Tokyo Shokonsha (changed to Yasukuni-jinja in 1879)
- The name 'Yasukuni' means 'peaceful' and was designated by the Emperor Meiji as an expression of the emperor's sincere hope for the eternal peace and tranquility of the nation.
- There are 2,466,000 Kami enshrined and worshiped at Yasukuni currently, and they are comprised of the hashira of soldiers and civilian employees of the military who died in an attempt to defend and promote the wellfare of Japan.
- This includes 1,600 14 to 16 year old boys who fought alongside solidiers against American forces in Okinawa.
- In addition to soldiers there are 57,000 women enshrined within Yasukuni who persished while serving as nurses, communication operators and transporters of general goods.
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Why is the Yasukuni Shrine an important issue?
The Yasukuni Shrine stirs up memories of Japanese atrocities during the 1930's and 1940's as well as the sentiment of Japanese imperialism. Prior to and during WWII the shrine was closely linked to State Shinto and received government funding to maintain its grounds and the nearby war museum the Yashukan. After WWII, during the allied occupation of Japan, State Shinto was destroyed by the creation of the American backed Japanese Constitution. Emperor Hirohito publicly denounced the connection between the state and shintoism as directed by the constitution. Immediately following, federal funding was withdrawn from the upkeep of the Yasukuni shrine and, due apparently to Japanese shame for their actions in WWII the Yashukan was closed allowing Japan to slip quietly out of an imperial mindset.
However, as time passed the
Japanese people attempted to redefine and discover their national identity
which led many conservatives to back
the re-nationalizing of the Yasukuni Shrine. The Yashukan war
museum was reopened and many people, including several Prime
Ministers, continued to visit the shrine in order to pay respects
to those who had given up their lives in support of Japan.
In 1978 14 Class A war criminals were secretly enshrined
in the Yasukuni Shrine
including the infamous Hideki Tojo. The Yasukuni
Shrine refused to allow these men to be removed from the temple,
considering it a violation of their spiritual rights, despite
international protests. Now the visits of the Prime Minister
and other
high ranking officials are seen as an international concern as
countries worry that Japan is slowly returning to its imperial
and militaristic
roots. (6)
Recently, Prime Minister Koizumi’s visits to the shrine have brought
criticism at home and abroad.
At home the visits are seen as a violation of Article 20 of the Japanese
constitution, which mandates the separation
of church and state.(11) Abroad these visits are a viewed as a
passive aggressive reminder of Japan’s militarism and determination
to recreate its own identity. China is especially enraged by Japan’s
actions, being the nation most directly and brutally harmed by Japanese
imperialism. While both nations realize that in order to unify Eastern
Asia as a political/economic center they must come to some agreeable
terms, a great deal of unresolved history, such as Japan’s actions
in Manchuria that make it extremely difficult
to find a happy resolution. (19)