Yasukuni Shrine

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Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社
The honden or main prayer hall
Information
Type	Imperial Shrine
Dedicated to	Those who lost their lives while serving Japan
Founded	June 1869
Founder(s)	Emperor Meiji
Priest(s)	Nanbu Toshiaki
Address	3-1-1, Kudankita, Chiyoda Tokyo 〒102-8246
Phone	+81 (03) 3261-8326
Website	Homepage
Portal:Shinto

Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社, Yasukuni Jinja^?) is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the kami (spirits) of soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan.^[1] Currently, its Book of Souls lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of Imperial Japan, particularly to those killed in wartime.^[2]

The shrine is a source of considerable controversy. Of the almost 2.5 million enshrined, 1,068 have been convicted of war crimes by a post World War II court.^[3] The most high-profile cases include the 14 convicted Class-A war criminals ("crime against peace") that are enshrined at Yasukuni.^[4] Furthermore, the Yūshūkan—a shrine-owned history museum—has been accused of containing some revisionism in its accounts of Japan's actions in World War II, as well as glorifying Japan's aggressive militaristic past.^[5][6] Visits to the shrine by Cabinet members, and various Prime Ministers in particular, have been the cause of protests at home as well as abroad. China, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan have protested against various visits since 1985.

Contents 1 History 2 Enshrined kami 2.1 Eligible categories 2.2 Kami by conflict 3 Controversy 3.1 Politicians' visits 4 Yasukuni Shrine complex 4.1 Shrine structures 4.2 Torii & gates 4.3 Memorials 4.4 Other buildings & structures 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 8.1 The controversy 9 External links

[edit] History

Yasukuni Shrine, originally named Tōkyō Shōkonsha (東京招魂社, Tōkyō Shōkonsha^?), was originally constructed in June 1869 by order of the Meiji Emperor in order to commemorate the victims of the Boshin War who fought on the side of the Restoration.^[7] At that time it was one of several dozen such shrines built throughout Japan. In 1879, the shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja and became one of the principal shrines associated with State Shinto as well as the primary national shrine for commemorating Japan's war dead. The name Yasukuni, a quotation from the classical-era Chinese text Zuo Zhuan, literally means "Pacifying the Nation" and was chosen by the Meiji Emperor.^[8] The shrine has performed Shinto rites to house the kami, or spirits, of all Japanese, former colonial subjects (Korean and Taiwanese) and civilians who died while participating in the nation's conflicts until the end of the US occupation of Japan in 1951.

After Japan's defeat in World War II, the US-led Occupation Authorities issued the Shinto Directive. This directive ordered the separation of church and state and effectively put an end to State Shinto. Yasukuni Shrine was then forced to either become a secular government institution or a religious institution that is independent from the Japanese government. It was decided that the shrine would become privately funded religious institution. Since that decision in 1946, Yasukuni Shrine has continued to be privately funded and operated.^[9]

[edit] Enshrined kami

According to Shinto beliefs, by enshrining kami Yasukuni Shrine provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the emperor. Unlike a traditional Shinto shrine, however, each kami does not fill its own seat in the shrine. Yasukuni, instead, has all enshrined kami occupying the same single seat.^[10] There are over 2,466,000 enshrined kami currently listed in the Yasukuni's Book of Souls. This list includes soldiers, as well as women and students who were involved in relief operations in the battlefield or worked in factories for the war effort.^[2] Furthermore, enshrinement is not exclusive to people of Japanese descent. Currently, Yasukuni Shrine has enshrined 27,863 Taiwanese and 21,181 Koreans.^[11]

[edit] Eligible categories

In order to be considered to be added to the list of enshrined, the dead must fall into at least one of several specific categories. As a general rule, those enshrined at the shrine are limited to those who died while serving Japan, so general civilian deaths due to war are not included apart from a handful of exceptions.

1. Military personnel, and civilians employed by the military, who were:
   • killed in action, or died as a result of wounds or illnesses sustained while on duty outside the Home Islands (and within the Home Islands after September 1931)
   • missing and presumed to have died as a result of wounds or illnesses sustained while on duty
   • died as a result of war crime tribunals which have been ratified by the San Francisco Peace Treaty
2. Civilians who participated in combat under the military and killed by resulting wounds or illnesses (includes residents of Okinawa)
3. Civilians who died, or are presumed to have died, in Soviet labor camps after the war
4. Civilians who were officially mobilized or volunteered (such as factory workers, mobilized students, Japanese Red Cross nurses and anti air-raid volunteers) who were killed while on duty
5. Crew who were killed aboard Merchant Navy vessels
6. Crew who were killed due to the sinking of exchange ships (i.e. Awa Maru)
7. Okinawan schoolchildren evacuees who were killed (i.e. the sinking of Tsushima Maru)
8. Officials of the governing bodies of Karafuto Prefecture, Kwantung Leased Territory, Governor-General of Korea and Governor-General of Taiwan

Although new names of World War II-dead are often added to the shrine every year, no new deaths have qualified since Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951. Therefore, the shrine does not include anyone who has died since 1951, including members of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces who have died on duty.

[edit] Kami by conflict

Since the shrine was founded for the casualties of the Boshin War in 1869, Japan has participated in ten other conflicts. The following table chronologically lists the number of kami enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine (as of October 17, 2004) from each of these conflicts.

Conflict	Description	Year(s)	# of Enshrined	Notes
Boshin War and Meiji Restoration	Japanese civil war	1867–1869	7,751	[12]
Satsuma Rebellion	Japanese civil war	1877	6,971	[12]
Taiwan Expedition of 1874	Conflict with Paiwan people (Taiwanese aborigines)	1874	1,130	[12]
First Sino-Japanese War	Conflict with Qing-China over Korea	1894–95	13,619	[12]
Boxer Uprising	Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China	1901	1,256	[12]
Russo-Japanese War	Conflict with Russian Empire over Korea and Manchuria	1904–05	88,429	[12]
World War I	Conflict with German Empire (Central Powers) over Chinese Shandong	1914–1918	4,850	[12]
Jinan Incident	Conflict with China (Kuomintang) over Chinese Jinan	1928	185	[12]
Mukden Incident	Leading to the occupation of Manchuria	1931	17,176	[13][12]
Second Sino-Japanese War	Conflict with China	1937–1941	191,250	[13][12]
World War II	Conflict with the Allied forces and involvement in the Pacific theater	1941–1945	2,133,915	[13][12]
		Total	2,466,532	[12]

In regard to the Boshin War and the Satsuma Rebellion, those dead from the Tokugawa shogunate's forces, particularly from the Aizu domain and Satsuma Province, are not enshrined because they are considered enemies of the emperor. This exclusion is deeply resented in both areas, and includes the ancestors of current Chief Priest Nanbu Toshiaki.

It should also be noted that enshrinements are carried out unilaterally by the shrine. Some families, such as those from foreign or Christian backgrounds have requested that their relatives be delisted. The Yasukuni priesthood, however, has stated that once a kami is enshrined, it has been 'merged' with the other kami occupying the same seat and therefore cannot be separated.

[edit] Controversy

Main article: Controversies surrounding Yasukuni Shrine

Since its founding in June 1869, there has been a substantial amount of controversy surrounding Yasukuni Shrine. Of these, the first major controversy occurred after World War II. In 1978, the kami of 1,068 convicted war criminals were secretly enshrined at Yasukuni.^[3] Among these 1,068 are 14 convicted Class-A war criminals ("crimes against peace"), including Imperial Japanese Army General Hideki Tojo.^[14] Furthermore, according to documents released by the National Diet Library of Japan in 2007, Health and Welfare Ministry officials and Yasukuni representatives officially met and agreed on 31 January 1969 that these Class-A war were "able to be honored" and decided to specifically not publicly announce the criminals' enshrinement.^[14] Since the enshrinement, there have been calls from different groups of people to remove them from Yasukuni Shrine. These calls, however, have not been fulfilled for several reasons. Shrine officials have stated that unlike traditional Shinto shrines, all enshrined kami are immediately combined and therefore impossible to separate out.^[10] The family of Prime Minister Tojo Hideki, too, has refused to sign a petition that would enable the removal of seven Class-A war criminals' names from the shrine.^[10] In recent years, there has been a push by South Korea to press Japan to build a new, secular war memorial to replace Yasukuni, but currently there are no definitive plans for such a monument.^[15]

Yasukuni Shrine also operates a museum of the history of Japan called the Yūshūkan. This museum, like the shrine, honors Japanese war heroes, but it is also a prominent military museum. While the Yūshūkan does display items relating to early military conflicts, such as the Meiji Restoration and the Satsuma Rebellion, the museum's primary focus are the events surrounding World War II.^[6] While this in itself does not present a problem, to many, the visits of Japanese Prime Ministers and the accusation of the museum presenting a revisionist interpretation of history do.^[6] Many believe that the museum is a symbol of Japanese colonialism and nationalism, and these actions serve as reminders that Japan has been slow to apologize for wartime crimes.^[6]

Accusations of the Yūshūkan's revisionist views stem from the fact that while the museum highlights heroic war stories and kamikaze pilots, it has no mention of negative incidents such as Japan using comfort women and the war crimes in Manchukuo.^[6] A documentary-style video is shown to give visitors the Japanese nationalist perspective that Japan was not at fault in the Nanking Massacre and that Japanese leaders were wrongly convicted at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials.^[6] Museum displays portray Japan as an Asian liberator, provoked into war by European and U.S. officials who choked the incoming supply of raw materials to the resource-poor nation.^[5]

[edit] Politicians' visits

After the controversy surrounding the enshrinement of the 14 Class-A war criminals in 1978, a new controversy began involving Japanese politicians' right to visit and worship at Yasukuni Shrine. This issue was first brought to light by Emperor Hirohito himself when he stopped visiting the shrine from 1978 until his death in 1989.^[16] According to a memorandum released in 2006 kept by Imperial Household Agency Grand Steward Tomohiko Tomita, Hirohito stated that the reason he stopped visiting the shrine was because of the decision to enshrine Class-A war criminals such as Yosuke Matsuoka and Toshio Shiratori.^[17] Since his 1978 decision, no Japanese emperor has personally visited Yasukuni Shrine.

While an emperor has not visited the shrine since the controversies surrounding the 1978 enshrinement, other Japanese politicians have caused considerable controversy by visiting Yasukuni, including Japanese Prime Ministers and other Japanese Cabinet members. Of all the political figures making visits to the shrine, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was one of the most outspoken and controversial. On October 17, 2005, for example, Koizumi visited the shrine for the fifth time since taking office. Although he claimed that his visit was a private affair, it came only days before Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura was scheduled to visit Chinese officials in Beijing to strengthen Sino-Japanese relations. Considering the shrine a glorification of Japan's past military aggression, the People's Republic of China responded by canceling the scheduled visit.^[18]

Koizumi's annual visits to Yasukuni continued to draw criticism from around the world. During the 2005 APEC summit in Busan, South Korea, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing likened the Koizumi's visits to "German leaders [visiting] (memorials) related to Hitler and Nazis."^[19] In 2006, Henry Hyde, chairman of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, stated that Koizumi could embarrass the United States Congress and offend American veterans of World War II if he were to give a Congressional speech after making another visit to Yasukuni.^[20]

Koizumi's expected successor, Shinzo Abe, had visited the shrine in April 2006. This visit concerned both Chinese and South Korean governments.^[21] However, Abe remained vague as to whether he had visited or would visit the shrine in the future, and subsequent events have led some to suggest that a compromise on the issue has been formed with China.^[22] Although Abe publicly supported his predecessor's visits to the shrine, he did not visit the shrine himself during his term in office.^[23]

The current Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed never to visit the shrine, a commitment applauded by Japan's Asian neighbors.^[24] Fukuda's open political opposition to the shrine has helped lead to improved relations with China, and North and South Korea.^[25] However, a group of 62 Diet members from the Liberal Democratic Party and the People's New Party, including former farm minister Shimamura and Eriko Yamatani, a special adviser to prime minister Fukuda, visited the shrine on 22 April 2008. ^[26]

[edit] Yasukuni Shrine complex

There are a multitude of facilities within the 6.25 hectare grounds of the shrine, as well as several structures along the 4 hectare causeway. Though other shrines in Japan also occupy large areas, Yasukuni is different because of its recent historical connections. The Yūshūkan museum and several bronze statues are just a few of the features that differentiate Yasukuni from other Shinto shrines. The following lists describe many of these facilities and structures.

[edit] Shrine structures

On the shrine grounds, there are several important structures. The following are listed in order from east to west:

• Haiden: Originally built in 1901, this building is the main prayer hall where worshipers come to pray, pay their respects and offer money. The roof was renovated in 1989. The white screens hanging off the ceiling are changed to purple ones on ceremonial occasions.^[27]

• Honden: The main shrine where the kami reside. Built in 1872 and refurbished in 1989, it is where the shrine's priests perform rituals. It is generally closed to the public.^[28]

• Reijibo Hōanden: Located directly behind the Honden to the east, the Reijibo Hōanden houses the Book of Souls—a handmade Japanese paper document that lists the names of all the divinities worshiped at Yasukuni Shrine. It was built of quakeproof concrete in 1972 with a private donation from Emperor Hirohito.^[29]

• Motomiya: This small shrine was first established in Kyoto by sympathizers of the imperial loyalists killed during the early weeks of the civil war that erupted during the Meiji Restoration. Seventy years later, in 1931, it was moved directly south of Yasukuni Shrine. Its name, Motomiya ("Original Shrine") references the fact that it was essentially a prototype for the current Yasukuni Shrine.^[30]

• Chinreisha: Located directly to the south of the Motomiya, this small shrine was constructed in 1965. It is dedicated to those not enshrined in the Honden—those killed by wars worldwide, regardless of nationality. It has a festival on July 13.^[31]

[edit] Torii & gates

There are several torii and gates located on both the causeway and shrine grounds. The following are listed in order from east to west:

• Daichii Torii: This large steel torii, the largest in Japan, was first erected in 1921 to mark the main entrance to the shrine. It stands approximately 25 meters tall and 34 meters wide and is the first torii encountered when walking from the east to the shrine in the west. The current iteration was erected in 1974 after the original was removed in 1943 due to weather damage.^[32]

• Daini Torii: The second torii encountered on the walk to the shrine, it is the largest torii made of bronze in Japan. It was erected in 1887.^[33]

• Shinmon: The Shinmon is located between the Daini Torii and Chumon Torii. A 6-meter tall hinoki cypress gate, it was first built in 1934 and restored in 1994. Each of its two doors bears a Chrysanthemum Crest measuring 1.5 meters in diameter.^[34]

• Chumon Torii: This wooden torii is the final one encountered before reaching the Haiden. It was rebuilt of cypress harvested in Saitama Prefecture in 2006.^[35]

• Ishi Torii: A large stone torii located to the south of the main causeway. It was erected in 1932 and marks the entrance to the parking lots.^[36]

• Kitamon & Minamimon: These two gateways are the north and south entrances, respectively, into the Yasukuni Shrine complex. The Minamimon is marked by a small wooden gate structure.

[edit] Memorials

• Irei no Izumi: This modern looking monument is a spring dedicated to those who suffered from or died of thirst in battle.^[37]

• Statue of Ōmura Masujirō: Created by Okuma Ujihiro in 1893, this statue is Japan's first western-style bronze statue. It honors Ōmura Masujirō, a man who is known as the "Father of the Modern Japanese Army."^[38]

• Statue of Kamikaze Pilot: A bronze statue representing a kamikaze pilot stands to the left of the Yūshūkan's entrance. A small plaque to the left of the statue donated by the Tokkōtai Commemoration Peace Memorial Association in 2005 details the 5,843 men who died while executing attacks for the Tokkōtai.^[39]

• Statues of Dog, Horse & Carrier Pigeon: These three life-sized bronze statues were all donated at different times during the second half of the 20th century. The first of the three that was donated, the horse statue was placed at Yasukuni Shrine in 1958 to honor the memory of the horses that served in the Japanese military. Presented in 1982, this statue depicting a pigeon atop a globe honors homing pigeons used by the military. The last statue, donated in March 1992, depicts a German shepherd and honors the soldiers' canine comrades.^[40]

• Statue of War Widow: This statue honors all mothers who were forced to raise children in the absence of their husbands who were killed in war. It was donated to the shrine in 1974 by these mothers' children.^[41]

• Monument of Dr. Pal: This recent monument was erected at Yasukuni Shrine in 2005. It honors Indian judge Radhabinod Pal, the lone justice on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East's trials of Japanese war crimes committed during World War II to find all the defendants not guilty.^[42]

[edit] Other buildings & structures

• Yūshūkan: Originally built in 1882, this museum located to the north of the main hall houses many war relics, including a Zero Fighter plane and Kaiten suicide torpedo. It glorifies sacrifice and bravery, while making little mention of human suffering on both sides. More controversially, it states that the Pacific War was a war fought by Japan in self-defense. The former prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has had to clarify in the Diet that Yūshūkan's interpretation of history differs to that of the government.

• Dove Cote: Almost 300 white doves live and are breed in a special dove cote located on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine.^[43]

• Shinchi Teien: This Japanese style strolling garden was created in the early Meiji Era. Its centerpiece is a small waterfall located in a serene pond. It was refurbished in 1999.^[44]

• Sumo Ring: In 1869, a sumo wrestling exhibition was held at Yasukuni Shrine in order to celebrate the shrine's establishment. Since then, exhibitions involving many professional sumo wrestlers, including several grand champions (yokozuna) take place at the Spring Festival almost every year. The matches are free of charge.^[45]

[edit] Gallery

Chinreisha	Ishi Torii	Irei no Izumi	Statue of Ōmura Masujirō
Statue of War Widow with Children	Statues of Dog, Horse & Carrier Pigeon	Monument of Dr. Pal

[edit] See also

• List of Shinto shrines
• Japanese nationalism
• Anti-Japanese sentiment
• Chinese nationalism
• Korean nationalism
• Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea

[edit] References

• Nelson, John. "Social Memory as Ritual Practice: Commemorating Spirits of the Military Dead at Yasukuni Shinto Shrine". Journal of Asian Studies 62, 2 (May 2003): 445-467.
• Pye, Michael: Religion and Conflict in Japan with Special Reference to Shinto and Yasukuni Shrine. In: Diogenes 50:3 (2003), S. 45-59.
• Saaler, Sven: Politics, Memory and Public Opinion. München, iudicium, 2005.

[edit] Further reading

• Breen, John. "The dead and the living in the land of peace: a sociology of the Yasukuni shrine". Mortality 9, 1 (February 2004): 76-93.
• Nelson, John. "Social Memory as Ritual Practice: Commemorating Spirits of the Military Dead at Yasukuni Shinto Shrine". Journal of Asian Studies 62, 2 (May 2003): 445-467.
• Sheftall, M.G. (2005). Blossoms in the Wind: Human Legacies of the Kamikaze. NAL Caliber, 480pp. ISBN 0-451-21487-0. 

• Sturgeon, William Daniel (August 2006). Japan's Yasukuni Shrine: Place of Peace or Place of Conflict? Regional Politics of History and Memory in East Asia. Dissertation.com. ISBN 1-58112-334-5. 

[edit] The controversy

• Ijiri, Hidenori. "Sino-Japanese Controversies since the 1972 Diplomatic Normalization". China Quarterly 124 (Dec 1990): 639–661.
• Shibuichi, Daiki. "The Yasukuni Dispute and the Politics of Identity of Japan: Why All the Fuss?" Asian Survey 45, 2 (March-April 2005): 197–215.
• Tamamoto, Masaru. "A Land Without Patriots: The Yasukuni Controversy and Japanese Nationalism". World Policy Journal 18, 3 (Fall 2001): 33–40.
• Yang, Daqing. “Mirror for the future of the history card? Understanding the ‘history problem’” in Chinese-Japanese Relations in the Twenty-first Century: Complementarity and Conflict, edited by Marie Söderberg, 10–31. New York, NY: Routledge, 2002.

[edit] External links

• Yasukuni Shrine official website (English)
• Official page of the Japanese Foreign Ministry on the Yasukuni visits of PM Koizumi
• A feature from The Japan Times on the chief priest of Yasukuni and his views of PM visits
• Japan's Memory Lapses article by Max Boot
• Detailed unofficial website about the Yūshūkan museum
• Yasukuni Jinja photos and slideshow on the 60th anniversary of Japan's surrender (2005)
• Japanese 'oppose PM shrine trips'
• 69% in favor of Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine
• Discussion of the impact of Prime Ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine
• Yasukuni Shrine and War Crimes (Japanese)
• Audio/Video recordings of Professor Tetsuya Takahashi discussing his book Postwar Japan on the Brink: Militarism, Colonialism, Yasukuni Shrine at the University of Chicago

Coordinates: 35°41′39″N, 139°44′35″E