Today wasn't really like any other day on my holiday so far. While every day so far has been an incredible and happy experience, today was a serious and sobering affair.
After yet again catching up on years and years of sleep, I woke up, did some washing, and headed out of my hotel at around noon. I had planned to head out to the bay today but the rainy weather in Tokyo at the moment wasn't very accommodating. I decided it was a good day for an indoor event, and there was one very serious visit that I felt the need to make.
Yasukuni Jinja is a Shinto shrine located in Tokyo the cause of considerable controversy. Its existance is of significant importance to the Japanese people, but that same existance is a hinderance to the improving of relations between Japan and China. The reason? Yasukuni Jinja is a memorial to the Japanese war dead. The list of those enshrined there includes over 1000 war criminals responsible for atrocities during WWII. Visits to the shrine by members of the Japanese parliament have sparked outrage in China, Korea, and Taiwan. As I understand it, in the Shinto religion, the Japanese do not believe that one can be held accountable for their actions after they have died. Those in the Book of Souls and Yasukuni are remembered by the Japanese for giving their lives to Imperial Japan.
I feel compelled to respect the beliefs and traditions of any culture. The Japanese do not honour the crimes these people commited, but instead honour the memory that they gave their lives for
the country they loved. It's a really difficult situation, because despite my position that you should not always judge another culture as if it was your own, I cannot deny my feeling that honouring some of these people for their service to Imperial Japan is akin to honouring Hitler for his efforts in rebuilding a shattered German economy. I cannot say that Yasukuni is wrong or right. I simply cannot answer that question.
I spent a long time before coming to Japan trying to decide if I would include Yasukuni in my tour, or if I would boycott it like so many others have. In the end, a philosophy of mine that no educational opportunity should ever be refused won out. Knowledge is an innocent treasure, so long as it is offered to the right mind. My late grandfather fought the Japanese in Guinea during the war, and while I truly hope that he would not feel I was dishonouring his own memory by visiting Yasukuni, I sadly cannot hold that hope with conviction. This made my decision to visit particular difficult, and I almost didn't walk in the gate.
I am however glad I chose to include it. It was a good experience on many levels. Architecturally, it is a beautiful complex and the Sakura in bloom made it so much more beautiful. There is a museum that has displays in English and Japanese and it is easily one of the most informative and well laid out museums that I have ever been to. It took me over 2 hours to get through all the displays.
The museum starts right back at the beginning, with information on the first sightings of western ships in Japans waters, and how the Japanese people at the time responded to these. Japan was a highly isolated country and in its past, any ships from another land almost always resulted in an assault. The Americans, British, and Dutch wanted an opportunity to expand their trade and colonisation and the Japanese just wanted to be left alone. Eventually, the Japanese relented at the threat of war and opened their ports, which in turn changed the face of their country forever.
The tour walks through the various, clearly identifiable stages. The opening of ports bought in trade and opportunity but also caused outrage within Japan. Over the years, this outrage helped to overturn the exisiting political system in Japan and returned the country to the former system of imperialism, with the whole country united under the Emporer. The removed system was more like the fuedalisim of medival Europe, although there was a King (Emporer), the Lord and Barons (Shogunate) were mostly autonomous. In Japan, this new era is referred to as the Meiji period.
During the Meiji period Japan sought to modernise its country and went from rejecting the west to embracing it, and sent engineers, architects, linguists, and diplomats to western lands for periods of time where they would learn as much as possible and then return to impart that knowledge for the benefit of their own country.
At this point one can draw one of two distinctions. Some would say that Japan was concerned about colonised rule in Asia and began a process to liberate the colonised lands of Asia. Remeber that at this point (mid 1800s) all but China, Siam and Japan were under colonial rule. Others would say that Japan sought the same colonial and imperialistic ends as the west. It is not my place or desire to say which distiction is right or wrong.
Anyway, back on track. As the tour progresses it covers the modernisation of Japan, the building of an imperial navy, and then the almost overnight switch in the early 20th century from being a defensive nation to an offensive nation. There is, of course, a large section covering the events of WWII and I was at one point jolted back to a sober reality when I say a map of the Pacific outlining areas that Japan had attacked, and saw a few arrows heading towards Australia.
Towards the end of the museum there were countless photos and letters of war dead on display. Whilst the vast majority of these were in Japanese, there was one lone book of final letters home that had been translated into English. I have to admit that I found it very hard not to weep openly as I read letter after letter or officers, privates, ensigns, and kamikaze pilots knowingly write their last letters to their parents, wives, and siblings. One that will stick with me forever is a kamikaze pilot who was writing to his wife. The letter indicated that he was only recently married, but they had attempted to concieve a child before he was drafted. In the letter he asked his wife to ensure, should she be pregant, that the child receive a good education and if it was a boy, he would like his son to become a solider. I cannot begin to imagine the torment of writing your final letter to a wife you had loved only a short time, asking her to care for a child you weren't sure you had. The letter was written with a strength and conviction that I found incredible. It was the last letter that I could bear to read and with it I closed the book and moved on.
While I would like to recommend Yasukuni to you, I won't. Having read above I'm sure if you ever have the opportunity to visit, you will make the decision that is right for you and I won't try to influence that decision at all.
After leaving the shrine I headed out for a very, very long walk. Past the imperial palace and into places that I cannot remember. After about 3 hours I finally stopped walking and found that I was four towns over from where I started. It was a simply beautiful walk and fortunately the rain had stopped, so hopefully tomorrow the weather will be fine for even more walking and a trip over to Tokyo Bay.
Mike
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