War Commemoration and the Yasukuni Shrine Issue PM Abe...

War Commemoration and the Yasukuni Shrine Issue

© Philip Seaton, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 2019

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PM Abe visits Yasukuni Shrine

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25517205

26 December 2013


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Yasukuni Shrine


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Some Photos!

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Omura Masujiro

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© Philip Seaton, Hokkaido University, 2012

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The Roots of the Controversy

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Yasukuni Shrine: Overview

• 1869: Founded as Tokyo Shokonsha

• 1879: Renamed Yasukuni Shrine

• Enshrines 2.46 million eirei (“glorious dead”) who were military (gunjin) or attached to the military (gunzoku) up to 1945.

• Civilians are not enshrined, except for those “attached to the military”.


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April 2013

Yasukuni Shrine Worship

• 靖国参拝（Yasukuni Sanpai）:　

“Worship,” “paying respects”, “remembering the dead”?

• When politicians go it inevitably causes diplomatic fallout.

• April 2013: “Parliamentarians commemorating the war dead who gave their lives for their country (kuni no tame) is something that happens in every country and is a perfectly natural act. I cannot understand the negative reaction.”


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Bakumatsu Origins

• Bakumatsu period (1853-68): Lit. “End of the Bakufu”. The period leading up to the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate.

• Starts with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry’s “Black Ships”.

• Culminates in Taisei Hokan (restoration of imperial rule) and the Boshin War (1868-9).

• Establishment of the “Yasukuni system” in use up to 1945 and beyond.


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• 7,751 eirei died in the Bakumatsu period (up to the end of the Boshin War, 1868-9).

• They comprise only 0.3% of the total souls enshrined.

• But, their enshrinement reveals the essence of Yasukuni Shrine.

Bakumatsu, Boshin WarSatsuma RebellionTaiwan Expedition onwardsRusso-Japanese War onwardsManchurian Incident, China WarGreat East Asian War

Who are the Eirei?


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Yoshida Shoin (Imperialist intellectual, executed during the Ansei Purge in 1859)

Hijikata Toshizo (Shinsengumi, died at the Battle of Hakodate in 1869)

Saigo Takamori (fought for the restoration 1868-9, died a rebel in 1877)

Omura Masujiro (father of the modern army, assassinated 1869)

OXXOPro-Imperial Restoration,

not only death in battle.Not fighting for but dying

for the Emperor.

Tokugawa loyalists (“rebels”) are not enshrined.

Retroactive apotheosis for imperial loyalists.

Who is Enshrined?


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“Real” Yasukuni patrons argue the Emperor, not the Prime Minister, should be worshipping at Yasukuni.

The common feature of all eirei is not “kuni no tame” (for the

country) or even “death in battle”, it is death while in the service of or

fighting for the Emperor.

In the Service of the Emperor


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• Pre-1945: Under state patronage. State Shinto a cornerstone of militarism.

• Regular worship by the Emperor and leading politicians. During the war there were regular enshrinement ceremonies.

• “Yasukuni no ie”: relatives of those enshrined afforded respect.

• Private grief of individuals of less importance than the sacrifice of soldiers for the emperor and nation.

Pre-1945


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• The Occupation forces consider abolishing Yasukuni.

• The idea is supported by many ordinary Japanese.

• Abolition flies in the face of the “freedom of religion” in the constitution.

• Yasukuni made an autonomous religious organization in 1951 under the separation of religion and the state.

The Occupation


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The Controversy Today


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• Various attempts in the late 1960s and 1970s to have Yasukuni Shrine returned to state patronage.

• Not a major issue until 1975: Prime ministers visit routinely at the Spring and Autumn festivals; Emperor Hirohito makes 8 visits 1945-75.

• 1975: PM Miki Takeo visits on 15 August. States his visit is “private” to avoid controversy.

• This starts the “private vs official” worship distinction.

Roots of the Modern Controversy


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• The separation of religion and state (Article 20) of the Japanese constitution forbids religious activity by politicians in their official capacity.

• But as private individuals their rights to religious freedom are protected.

• Can a Prime Minister ever act in an “individual capacity”?

Private vs Official Worship


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• Transportation: Does he use a private car? (But he always needs security).

• Who pays for flowers?

• How does he sign his name in the worshipper’s book?

• What comments does he make about the status of his visit?

• Does he “worship” or does avoidance of the Shinto ritual (two bows, two claps, one bow) mean the action is not religious (and therefore constitutional)?


Private vs Official Worship


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• 1978: 14 class A war criminals are quietly enshrined.

• This is leaked to the press in 1979.

• Yasukuni worship becomes associated with worshipping the architects of Japan’s wars.

• But this ignores the fact that over 1,000 B/C class war criminals are also enshrined, as well as those who committed atrocities but were never tried.


The Class A War Criminals


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• Nationalistic (Japan’s wars defended).

• Classic military museum.

• Aspirations to be, but is not, Japan’s national war museum.


Yushukan Museum


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• 1985: PM Nakasone Yasuhiro, who had worshipped a number of times since becoming PM in 1982, worships officially on 15 August.

• Causes an international storm.

• No other PM ventures a public visit until 1996 (Hashimoto Ryutaro on his birthday). But Miyazawa Kiichi worshipped in secret in 1992.

Internationalization of the Issue


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• While visiting the Kamikaze museum in Chiran before coming prime minister, Koizumi Junichiro was famously seen crying while reading the letters from pilots to their families.

• He pledged during the 2001 LDP leadership race to worship on 15 August, whatever the opposition.

• Protests forced him to worship on 13 August instead.

• He visited Yasukuni Shrine once a year, 2001-2005. His sixth and final visit was on 15 August 2006.

Prime Minister Koizumi


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PM Abe visits Yasukuni Shrine

And then PM Abe went on 26 December 2013


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• Constitutional Issue: Can politicians pay their respects at a religious site?

• Diplomatic Issue: Worship angers Asian neighbours.

• Philosophical Issue: How does one remember the perpetrators of invasion and war crimes?


Three Main Issues


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• A non-religious site has been proposed that does not have Yasukuni Shrine’s connotations. Intensive discussions in 2002.

• Opposed by nationalists: “the war dead are at Yasukuni”

• Opposed by progressives: does not address the philosophical issue (commemoration of aggression)

• Nixed by the Koizumi administration and sidelined.

• A campaign pledge of the DPJ in 2009, but they got distracted by other things!

Alternatives to Yasukuni Shrine


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Gokoku Shrines

• “Nation Protecting Shrines”: They mirror Yasukuni’s functions at a local level.

• A 1939 directive creates designated gokoku shrines in every prefecture.

• They mostly survive to this day and act as “local Yasukunis”

• Controversies are the same, but the level of attention is very different.

Hokkaido Gokoku Shrine


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Commemoration

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Commemoration is an active process of keeping alive selected memories of people and events; attributing to those memories a particular meaning or function; and using sites, events or media to pass them on to others; all within the context of an identifiable personal/political rationale for keeping the memories alive.

Commemoration


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• The state feels obliged to thank those that gave their lives.

• As long as the state wants to thank rather than apologize to Japanese servicemen and women, it must avoid characterizations of the whole war that delegitimize their service.

• This is why the Japanese government has typically avoid the simple term: “aggressive war”.


Military Commemoration

The names of the dead from the Battle of Okinawa

(memorial in Sapporo)


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• Held since 1963 in Budokan Hall, Tokyo.

• Attended by around 6,000 people including the Emperor and Empress, prime minister, senior politicians and bereaved relatives.

• Commemorates the military dead, but pride of place is given to bereaved relatives, not veterans.

• From 1993-2012 it included a statement of regret by the PM for the suffering Japan caused across Asia.

• Abe stopped this in 2013.

Ceremony to Commemorate the War Deadon 15 August


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In the gracious presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress and with the attendance of bereaved family members of the war dead and many distinguished representatives of all sectors of society, I hereby commence the annual Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead.

I deliver this address on behalf of the Government of Japan before the souls of those who fell on the battlefields thinking of their homeland and concerned about their families as well as the souls of those who perished amidst the destruction of the war and those who lost their lives in remote foreign countries during the aftermath of the war.

The peace and prosperity that we now enjoy have been built upon the sacrifices of you who gave up your precious lives while thinking of your beloved children and wives, praying for the happiness of the mothers and fathers you left behind, and wishing that the mountains and riversides of your hometowns would be lush with greenery. We will never forget this, even for a moment.

Words are entirely inadequate as we pray for peace and offer our thanks as we mourn the passing of these souls. I would now like to close my eyes for a moment and quietly bow my head, reflecting on this past.

Since the end of World War II, Japan has single-mindedly done its very best to follow a path of peace, placing value on freedom and democracy.

In order to transform the world into a better place, tomorrow even more so than today, Japan has been extending a hand of support to various countries and regions from not long after the war ended.

Domestically, we have arrived at the present day by helping each other out and overcoming socioeconomic changes and crises wrought by natural catastrophes any number of times.

We will carve out the future of this country as one full of hope, as we face history with humility and engrave deeply into our hearts the lessons that we should learn. We will make contributions to lasting world peace to the greatest possible extent and spare no effort in working to bring about a world in which all people are able to live enriched lives.

I will conclude my address by once again offering my heartfelt prayers for the repose of the souls of the war dead and for the good health of the members of their bereaved families.

Ceremony to Commemorate the War Deadon 15 August: PM Shinzo Abe’s Address in 2013


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Ceremony to Commemorate the War Deadon 15 August: PM Shinzo Abe Address in 2007

In the presence of Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan and with the attendance of bereaved family members of the war dead and many distinguished representatives of all sectors of society, here today we hold the annual Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead.

During the war more than three million people died, including those who fell on the battlefields while thinking of their homeland and families. Among the war dead were those who perished amid the destruction of the war and those who lost their lives during the aftermath of the war in remote foreign countries. Moreover, Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. On behalf of the people of Japan, I express my feelings of profound remorse and sincere mourning for all the victims of the war.

Sixty-two years have passed since the end of the war. We should reflect that the present peace and prosperity of Japan are built on the precious sacrifices made by those who lost their lives to the war, as well as on the ceaseless efforts made by the Japanese people in the years following the war's end.

Furthermore, we should never forget that friendly relations between Japan and other countries and regions around the world have provided Japan with stability in the post-war world.

We have a responsibility to sincerely look back on the past as well as to hand down to the next generation the lessons of that horrible war and not allow them to erode.

Here today, based on its remorse over the war, Japan vows to uphold its pledge not to engage in war, further advance friendly ties with countries worldwide and stand at the fore of the international community to actively contribute toward the establishment of lasting world peace. Japan will endeavor with all its resources to gain further trust from the world as a nation that genuinely pursues international peace.

In concluding, I offer my heartfelt prayers for the repose of the souls of the war dead and for the continued peace and good health of the bereaved families of the war dead.


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• Why doesn’t the national government run state-sponsored commemorations for civilian victims?

• The nation failed to protect its civilians: not an ideal leader of national mourning.

• Could become embroiled in ritualized apologies to the people (undermining state authority).

• The emotional significance of local “sites of memory and mourning”.


Civilian Commemorations

Monument to Air Raid Victims in Kushiro


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• Okinawa (23 June), Hiroshima (6 August) and Nagasaki (9 August) are the key quasi-national ceremonies to commemorate civilian victims.

• Numerous other events organized locally (as shown in NHK news).


Main Civilian Commemorations


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Conclusions


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Conclusions• Yasukuni Shrine enshrines those who died in the

service of the emperor up to 1945, including those executed for their actions during WWII.

• A domestic controversy since 1945, an international one since 1985. Constitutional, diplomatic and philosophical aspects.

• All other aspects of Japanese war commemoration generate controversy, too.

• Does aggression negate the rights/obligations of a state to officially commemorate its war dead?


Conclusions


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• The Motion: “The Japanese Prime Minister should worship at Yasukuni Shrine on 15 August every year.”

• Reading is available via the website.

• Prepare arguments both for and against the motion!

Next Time


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