The “sacred” standing for the “fallen” spirits: Yasukuni Shrine and memory of war

ABSTRACT

This essay examines the rhetoric/politics of Yasukuni Shrine as an experiential memory-scape, a material and discursive ground to frame and enact banal patriotism and militant nationalism. As a powerful mnemonic and rhetorical institution, Yasukuni Shrine (re)produces a nationalistic narrative and identity by (con)fusing natural feelings of individual grief and cultural tradition of commemoration with national heritage of banal patriotism. By (con)fusing what is “particular” and “universal,” Yasukuni Shrine establishes its rhetorical ground to justify a “banal” sense of patriotism that slips into the “ordinary yet honorable” fervor of militant nationalism, while effectively evading its moral/ethical reflexivity.

KEY WORDS:

• Memory
• space
• history
• nationalism
• war

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the editor and the reviewers of the journal for their generous and helpful suggestions to improve the essay. Also, the author expresses special thanks to Drs. Raymie McKerrow and Min Wha Han, for their many readings and kind inputs on earlier versions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies [grant AKS-2013-R-04].