Memories of Japanese militarism: The Yasukuni Shrine as a commemorative site

Abstract

The annual official visits of Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto commemorative site, have led to considerable controversy throughout Asia. While there are those within Japan who insist that it is a politician's duty to pay tribute to the past, many others view the shrine as a symbol of militarism, a reminder of Japan's colonial past and the visits as an act of provocation to those who suffered under Japan's rule. The fact that, among the worshiped, are the spiritual essences of 14 War Criminals has frequently served as a public lightning rod in this conflict. In our study of the Yasukuni Shrine and the associated Yûshûkan war museum, we explore the memories of the Asia-Pacific War supported by this shrine. In our analysis, problematic, nationalistic arguments emerge. In summary, the Yasukuni Shrine and the Yûshûkan are constructing and promoting memories of the Asia-Pacific War as a war of self-defense. Indirectly the shrine, therefore, promotes attitudes of militarism as well as a historical world view distinctly at odds with that of Japan's neighbors. By examining the war memories connected to the Yasukuni, we also bring to attention the rise of nationalism and militarism in contemporary Japan.

Keywords:

• collective memory
• Yasukuni Shrine
• Japanese militarism
• Asia-Pacific War

Notes

1. More commonly referred to as the ‘Pacific War’, but because it was fought in a wider area than the Pacific coast line, the term, ‘Asia-Pacific War’ has been used in recent years.

2. To enshrine the war dead, priests write down the names of dead soldiers in their ‘spiritual list’ and perform a ceremony to honor their spirits as ‘gods’. Their remains or mortuary tablets are not at the shrine.

3. The other categories, Class B and C War Crimes are conventional war crimes, violations of the laws and customs of war or in the case of Class C War Criminals, crimes against humanity, including mistreatment of prisoners of war (POW).

4. The other 14 were released in the 1950s. Among them, Mamoru Shigemitsu, a former Foreign Minister, and Okinori Kaya, a former Financial Minister, became politicians again.

5. Nakasone's visit on this day was the first official visit of a ‘prime minister’ paying offertory with tax money. Previous prime ministers visited the shrine as ‘private person’, which was done first by Miki (Japanese Prime Minister; 1974–1976).

6. The Japanese government sent 21 demands to China in 1915. They included the right to the former German territories in China (Japan declared war against Germany in World War I and occupied the German territories in China) and a demand to appoint ‘Japanese advisors’ to the Chinese government, which meant Japan's control over China. Although the demand to appoint Japanese advisors was rejected, the rest was ratified.

7. The Mukden incident happened in Manchuria (the current northeastern part of China). Japanese soldiers detonated a small amount of explosive on a railroad of the South Manchuria Railway owned by Japan. The Japanese military blamed the Chinese and subsequently occupied Manchuria. As a result of an investigation by the League of Nations, the truth was uncovered, which led to Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations in 1933.

8. A trii gate is a common gate at Shinto shrines. It consists of two vertical pillars carrying two horizontal poles on top. The first trii gate at the Yasukuni Shrine is 25 meters high and 34 meters wide.

9. At a regular Shinto shrine, one sees people praying in a more informal manner: throwing money in an offertory box, ringing a bell, and clapping their hands.

10. Following their victory in the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Philippines and Guam became colonies of the United States.

11. The official cause for the attack was that somebody fired a shot toward a group of Japanese soldiers in training by the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijin on 7 July 1937. The Japanese military declared that the attack was carried out by a Chinese and therefore attacked the Chinese military on the following day.

12. ‘Ikite ryoshû no haji wo ukezu’ [Choose to die rather than to disgrace yourself by being caught] This is from the battle codes issued by Hideki Tôjô who was Prime Minister and Army General in 1941. The text was originally designed for soldiers but later civilians were made to comply with the code as well. As a result, a number of Japanese civilians were also forced to kill themselves in Saipan and Okinawa.

13. The ‘revisionist’ tendencies and censorship in Japanese school books led to a recent ‘text book controversy’ centered on a 2005 history textbook published by the Fusosha Publishing House. The book's authors attempt to justify Japan's aggressive past in a fashion similar to the Yasukuni shrine and the Yûshûkan museum.

14. Article 9 of the Japanese constitution renounces the use of armed forces as a sovereign right as a means to solve international disputes. Some argue that the article does not abandon the right for self-defense or use of troops for ‘peace keeping’ purposes.

15. Japan's Self-Defense Forces or jieitai (SDF) were sent to Iraq to engage in humanitarian aid. The SDFs were originally formed during the Korean War (1950–1953) when a substantial number of American troops who were stationed in Japan were sent to the Korean Peninsula (Their former name was National Police Reserve or keisatsu yobitai).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ako Inuzuka

Ako Inuzuka (PhD, Bowling Green State University) is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Her research areas are intercultural and international communication. In recent years, she has worked on projects involving the collective memories of the Asian Pacific War in contemporary Japan. Her recent publications include ‘Remembering Japanese Militarism through the Fusosha Textbook: The Collective Memory of the Asian-Pacific War in Japan’ and ‘When the periphery becomes the center: a critical turn in intercultural communication studies’.

Thomas Fuchs

Thomas Fuchs (PhD, Bowling Green State University) is a postdoctoral fellow at Pennsylvania State University.