My visit to Yasukuni Shrine

[GoldenBellShield]

I was in Tokyo for 3 days last week. I have always wonder what the big deal was about Yasukuni, why a simple visit by Japanese Politician can create such a big stir and what the Japanese believed about WWII. Granted, I knew that post-war Japaneses never had a detailed account of the atrocities that the Imperial Japanese army committed during WWII and I knew that Yasukuni enshrined Class-A war criminals. But I just had to encounter it myself.

And so off I went.

Yasukuni was a serene place, a park in the middle of metropolitan Tokyo City. It is a good place to take a rest, away from the hustle of city life. It was a short walk from the subway and sits right next to the Budokan Stadium. The main shrine looks just like the famous Meji shine. To pray, put your hands together, say your prayers, clap, and then put your hands together again. That's how the Japanese do it. I didn't of course, because I knew well that within the shrine houses the spirits of those who could have murdered my relatives more than 60 years ago.

Next to the shrine was the museum.

 

[GoldenBellShield]

My visit to Yasukuni Shrine Part II

The museum exhibited replicas of arms, boats and planes used during WWII. The exhibit that struck me the most was the kind of planes that kamikaze pilots used to smash into their targets like what you saw in the movie Pearl Harbour.

There was a documentary titled "The Truth About Nanking". It was showing when I dropped into the theatre. I didn't understand most of it since it was in Japanese and I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the museum, so I didn't. But I knew that for the last 1/2 a century, the Japanese had either denied that the killings in Nanking never happend, or were exaggerated. I wish I had secretly filmed the video.

There were exhibits that talks about Japanese history of war since the 1600s. Parts of it were in English, and so I followed the path.

Again, no photos, so you have to take my words for it.

 

[madmansg]

did you see Pred Nathan or LKY picture in the shrine ?

 

[GoldenBellShield]

My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

I was really more interested in what happend between 1930s and 1948. This was what the gist was, from the Japanese historians.

According to the Japanese, they were never the aggressors during WWII. The incident at Nanking was never a massacre, there was mention of fighting but no mention of death. Japan never wanted war, but they had to fight it because as the American and Europe's power in Asia grew, Japan will soon be severely deprieved of the natural resources like oil and metal it needed to survive. Since their survivor was threatened and there didn't seemed to be a way to talk their way out, they had to fight.

The other reason they mentioned why they needed to fight was their desire to remove the caucasians from Asia so that Asia could be returned to its rightful owners, the Chinese, the Thais, etc...

Japan wanted a swift war that it could quickly fight, win and end, to restore sovereignty in this part of the world but was unable to do so.

Within the shrine museum, there were no mention of comfort ladies, killings, Force 731 and many other atrocities that were already proven to have happened.

It took a trip to Yasukini to learn these. I took no pictures and left with a heavy heart. But it was a trip well worth. Now I understood what the big deal was Japanese politicians visit Yasukini. Unlike what some of them said, a prayer at Yasukuni is more than just paying respects to countrymen who died during the war. Yasukini enshrined more than just war criminals. It also enshrined a version of history that Japan wants its people to believe generations to come.

 

[neji]

maybe on the same altar as the 14 Class A war criminals

 

[GoldenBellShield]

You made history, to be the 1st Singaporean to visit Yasukuni Shrine..

You could read this. Someone else went and took down a lot more than I did.

http://gssq.blogspot.com/2008/06/happiness-is-nothing-more-than-good.html

 

[Sideswipe]

Are Japan foolish enough to think they could swallow up the whole China back then.

There were many conspiracy theories on how Japan actually went into the Sino-Japanese war, mainly to gain raw materials and never wanting a full scale war. In the end, they found out that they couldn't get out of China by plundering and running away. Their first decision to attack China meant the start of a never ending conflict which Japan must win completely to leave the Mainland.

Chiang Kai Shek never wanted a war with Japan at least not until the Communists were destroyed. He would have given the Japanese Manchuria and part of Northern China concessions if that could delay the inevitable war.

It was the Russians who wanted China to fight with Japan. Stalin made use of the Chinese Communists who plotted the Xi-an incident and the rest is history.

 

[miosux]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

hitler probably didn't consider himself the aggressor, nor did the americans in vietnam. Same as russia in south ossentia. take it all with a pinch of salt and don't forget that history is written by the victors.

the naking massacre has been documented. go watch the docu-movie "Nanking"

true, the japanese were the subject of an economic embargo by the west, but this occured only after their invasion of china.

chase away the ang mohs and return asia to the asians?? that's just propoganda to justify their occupation of the various countries.

anyway this issue is deeply political more than anything else

I was really more interested in what happend between 1930s and 1948. This was what the gist was, from the Japanese historians.

According to the Japanese, they were never the aggressors during WWII. The incident at Nanking was never a massacre, there was mention of fighting but no mention of death. Japan never wanted war, but they had to fight it because as the American and Europe's power in Asia grew, Japan will soon be severely deprieved of the natural resources like oil and metal it needed to survive. Since their survivor was threatened and there didn't seemed to be a way to talk their way out, they had to fight.

The other reason they mentioned why they needed to fight was their desire to remove the caucasians from Asia so that Asia could be returned to its rightful owners, the Chinese, the Thais, etc...

Japan wanted a swift war that it could quickly fight, win and end, to restore sovereignty in this part of the world but was unable to do so.

Within the shrine museum, there were no mention of comfort ladies, killings, Force 731 and many other atrocities that were already proven to have happened.

It took a trip to Yasukini to learn these. I took no pictures and left with a heavy heart. But it was a trip well worth. Now I understood what the big deal was Japanese politicians visit Yasukini. Unlike what some of them said, a prayer at Yasukuni is more than just paying respects to countrymen who died during the war. Yasukini enshrined more than just war criminals. It also enshrined a version of history that Japan wants its people to believe generations to come.

 

[myjohnson]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

The museum's historical narrative must look familiar to thinking Singaporeons. If you look at it in broad strokes, it's all about denial even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Same here in Singapore. PInkie
you listening?

 

[GoldenBellShield]

I learnt that Yasukuni was not financed by the Japanese government. Till date, its upkeep has been paid for by donations. None of the Emperors since Hirohito has visited Yasukini....

History is always written by those who wants their side of the story told. Nobody can be totally objective.

 

[GoldenBellShield]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

The museum's historical narrative must look familiar to thinking Singaporeons. If you look at it in broad strokes, it's all about denial even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Same here in Singapore. PInkie
you listening?

I wish I could hear about Singapore's history from the like of the late Mr. Lim Chin Siong and Dr. Lee Siow Chow....or in years to come, Dr. Chee Soon Juan.

 

[gssq]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

I believe the views propounded in Yushukan are not shared by the majority of Japanese historians (indeed, Japanese).

The only museums I've seen which approach this level of bias, misinformation and lies are... in China.

If anyone wants pictures of the place, I think I linked an acquaintance's site which has a few pictures.

Anyway now all Japanese museums are like that. The Peace Museum in Hiroshima was great, but don't wait up for that entry; it'll be awhile.

 

[GoldenBellShield]

Hi. Are you Agogogo himself?

When I left Yushukan at Yasukini, I realized that I have contributed 800 yen to fund Yasukini's revisionist history of WWII.

To make up for it, I told myself that there are two things I will do when I get back to Singapore. The first, to let more people know about what the Japanese have been doing to whitewash the atrocities they committed during WWII. The second, to do myself a favour, and learn about the history of WWII so that whenever an opportunity arise, I will spread the word.

 

[Ramseth]

Whatever happened, it was war.

The Japanese should have faced up to it, just as the Chinese through the centuries and millennia have. Long before the invention of camera and movie, the Chinese had real-time written documentaries of their own atrocities committed, e.g. the Qin massacre of Linzhi city civilians and the live burial of 200,000+ Zhao surrendered soldiers. The Chinese even have a term for city massacre, it's called 屠城 "tucheng". The Japanese, being heavily influenced by ancient Chinese history and culture, must have learned from it, so why not face up to it?

The Germans also made no claim that "victors wrote the history" and faced up to the fact the 6,000,000+ holocaust happened, took full responsibility and made full apology, up to a German Chancellor kneeling at a holocaust memorial site in Israel.

 

[gssq]

Yep, I'm Agagooga.

Did you buy anything at the shrine? It may finance the next Greater East Asia War!

Anyway as I said the museum's views are hardly mainstream. Even the textbooks which China always protests at are but one or two out of more than a hundred.

What China itself does is much worse - actively inciting hate against the Japanese and poisoning the minds of its children (and citizens).

And no. The Chinese have not faced up to Tiananmen Square. Even criticism of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward can only go so far.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

I believe the views propounded in Yushukan are not shared by the majority of Japanese historians (indeed, Japanese).

The only museums I've seen which approach this level of bias, misinformation and lies are... in China.

If anyone wants pictures of the place, I think I linked an acquaintance's site which has a few pictures.

Anyway now all Japanese museums are like that. The Peace Museum in Hiroshima was great, but don't wait up for that entry; it'll be awhile.

what makes you think that the views in Yushukan are not shared by the majority japs????

Then u go on to say that china's museums have reached the same level of misinformation in Japan. Like trying to imply that hey Japan may behave like this but so does China and sort of making light of the attrocities committed by the Japs.

Why let me retort. I think the museum u have seen reaching the same level of bias, misinformation in China is just a minority. The majority there report it correctly.

 

[myjohnson]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

Yeah. And these guys still have the temerity to cry baby every August 5th and 8th about being the victims of mankind's first use of nuclear weapons. If not for the atomic bombings, historians had concluded that a total of ten million Japanese as well as one million allied soldiers would die in the event of an invasion of the home islands. A Jap will always be a Jap.

 

[gssq]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

what makes you think that the views in Yushukan are not shared by the majority japs????

Then u go on to say that china's museums have reached the same level of misinformation in Japan. Like trying to imply that hey Japan may behave like this but so does China and sort of making light of the attrocities committed by the Japs.

Why let me retort. I think the museum u have seen reaching the same level of bias, misinformation in China is just a minority. The majority there report it correctly.

From my research I found that most Japs consider Yushukan strange, right-wing and revisionist. And I visited two other museums (and a few quasi-museums) but they weren't politicised or slanted like Yushukan.

I said China was bad, but not as bad, but just because China does this sort of thing also doesn't excuse Japanese atrocities. I don't know where you got this idea from.

And besides visiting a couple of Chinese museums, I did some research on them and they are blatant tools of social engineering by the Chinese Communist Party. And given how the CCP socially engineers society in general, it would be unreasonable not to think their musems are similarly biased.

Yeah. And these guys still have the temerity to cry baby every August 5th and 8th about being the victims of mankind's first use of nuclear weapons. If not for the atomic bombings, historians had projected a total of ten million Japanese as well as one million allied soldier's dead in the invasion of the home islands. A Jap will always be a Jap.

I agree that the A-bombs saved lives overall, but what does "A Jap will always be a Jap" mean?

 

[Sideswipe]

Many mainland Chinese even in today world still believe their government past lies that the Chinese communists were the main fighting force against the Japanese while the Chinese nationalists only played a supporting role.

It's always hard to admit and face your past mistakes

I found it almost laughable that - the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre (2007) was honored and remembered by the mainland Chinese. Yet they have all forgotten about their WWII leader - generalissimo Chiang who remained unburied in Taipei and unable to return home to rest in peace.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Re: My visit to Yasukuni Shrine III

From my research I found that most Japs consider Yushukan strange, right-wing and revisionist. And I visited two other museums (and a few quasi-museums) but they weren't politicised or slanted like Yushukan.

I said China was bad, but not as bad, but just because China does this sort of thing also doesn't excuse Japanese atrocities. I don't know where you got this idea from.

And besides visiting a couple of Chinese museums, I did some research on them and they are blatant tools of social engineering by the Chinese Communist Party. And given how the CCP socially engineers society in general, it would be unreasonable not to think their musems are similarly biased.



I agree that the A-bombs saved lives overall, but what does "A Jap will always be a Jap" mean?

Look i think u should re read your 2nd last posting and then read my reply to you and then ponder how did you come about that i was inferring that japan should be excused from its attrocities.

Seriously, are you pretending? Just to refresh memeories. U wrote that that japanese museum was bias in presenting information u agreed with the TS, then u next went no to mention that only this museum is like this in Japan while the majority of them and the majority of the japanese did not think like that. Next you went on to say that hey many museums in China are also biased like This jap museum. From talking about this jap museum to talking about China ones. Most ppl would infer hey your shifting the spotlight of the attrocities committed by japs unto China. Its like saying hey i'm a criminal and a crook but hey u see my neighbour. he's also dishonest, cheats etc etc. That's what your doing.

I wonder how you could read it as me saying this makes light of the attrocities by the japs.

I think we should stick to the topic and talk about this shrine and the museum there and maybe other museums in Japan. Not talk about ones in China if not why not shift to north korea's museums then USA's then Russia's U get my drift.