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Published: January 1st 2009
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Yasukuni Shrine
Here's what Wikipedia has to say:
Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社, Yasukuni Jinja, "Pacifying the Nation" Shrine) is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the kami (spirits) of soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of Imperial Japan, particularly to those killed in wartime.
The shrine is a source of controversy. Of the almost 2.5 million enshrined, 1,068 have been convicted of war crimes by a post World War II court. Fourteen Class-A war criminals are enshrined at Yasukuni, although two of those enshrined, Yōsuke Matsuoka and Osami Nagano, died in prison before verdicts could be handed down. The Yūshūkan—a shrine-owned history museum—has been accused of revisionism in its accounts of Japan's actions in World War II, as well as glorification of Japan's aggressive militaristic past. Visits to the shrine by Japanese Cabinet members and Prime Ministers, in particular, have been the cause of protests at home as well as abroad. South Korea, North Korea, People's Republic of China and Republic of China
have protested against various visits since 1985. The Taipei Times described the shrine in a 2008 article as "Japan's ultimate taboo subject."
History Yasukuni Shrine, originally named Tōkyō Shōkonsha (東京招魂社, Tōkyō Shōkonsha), was constructed in June 1869, by order of the Meiji Emperor, to commemorate the victims of the Boshin War who fought on the side of the Restoration. It was one of several dozen war memorial shrines built throughout Japan at that time as part of the government-directed State Shinto program. In 1879, the shrine was renamed Yasukuni Jinja and became one of State Shinto's principal shrines, as well as the primary national shrine for commemorating Japan's war dead. The name Yasukuni, a quotation from the classical-era Chinese text Zuo Zhuan, literally means "Pacifying the Nation" and was chosen by the Meiji Emperor. Shinto rites are performed at the shrine, which, according to Shinto belief, houses the kami, or spirits, of all Japanese, former colonial subjects (Korean and Taiwanese) and civilians who died in service of the emperor while participating in the nation's conflicts that occurred prior to 1951.
After Japan's defeat in World War II, the US-led Occupation Authorities issued the Shinto Directive. This directive
ordered the separation of church and state and effectively put an end to State Shinto. Yasukuni Shrine was then forced either to become a secular government institution or a religious institution that is independent from the Japanese government. It was decided that the shrine would become a privately funded religious institution. Since that decision in 1946, Yasukuni Shrine has continued to be privately funded and operated.
Enshrined kami According to Shinto beliefs, by enshrining kami Yasukuni Shrine provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the emperor. Unlike a traditional Shinto shrine in which each kami occupies its own seat in the shrine, Yasukuni has all enshrined kami occupying the same single seat.
There are over 2,466,000 enshrined kami currently listed in the Yasukuni's Symbolic Registry of Divinities. This list includes soldiers, as well as women and students who were involved in relief operations in the battlefield or worked in factories for the war effort. Enshrinement is not exclusive to people of Japanese descent. Currently, Yasukuni Shrine has enshrined 27,863 Taiwanese and 21,181 Koreans.
Eligible categories
As a general rule, the enshrined are limited to those who died
Slanted...
What about Pearl Harbor? while serving Japan during armed conflicts, so civilians who died during wars are not included, apart from a handful of exceptions. In order to be considered to be added to the list of enshrined, the dead must fall into at least one of the eligible categories:
1. Military personnel, and civilians employed by the military, who were:
* killed in action, or died as a result of wounds or illnesses sustained while on duty outside the Home Islands (and within the Home Islands after September 1931)
* missing and presumed to have died as a result of wounds or illnesses sustained while on duty
* died as a result of war crime tribunals which have been ratified by the San Francisco Peace Treaty
2. Civilians who participated in combat under the military and died from resulting wounds or illnesses (includes residents of Okinawa)
3. Civilians who died, or are presumed to have died, in Soviet labor camps after the war
4. Civilians who were officially mobilized or volunteered (such as factory workers, mobilized students, Japanese Red Cross nurses and anti air-raid volunteers) who were killed while on duty
5. Crew who were killed aboard Merchant Navy vessels
6. Crew who were killed due to the sinking of exchange ships (i.e. Awa Maru)
7. Okinawan schoolchildren evacuees who were killed (i.e. the sinking of Tsushima Maru)
8. Officials of the governing bodies of Karafuto Prefecture, Kwantung Leased Territory, Governor-General of Korea and Governor-General of Taiwan
Although new names of World War II-dead are added to the shrine every year, no deaths due to conflicts occurring since Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951 have qualified for enshrinement. Therefore, the shrine does not include members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces who have died on duty in subsequent conflicts.
Enshrinement is carried out unilaterally by the shrine. Some families from foreign countries such as South Korea have requested that their relatives be delisted on the grounds that enshrining someone against their beliefs in life constitutes an infringement of the Constitution. The Yasukuni priesthood, however, has stated that once a kami is enshrined, it has been 'merged' with the other kami occupying the same seat and therefore cannot be separated.
Here's what I have to say about Yasukuni Shrine:
1.) The Shinto religion is nonsense! It's nice to have a memorial for the war dead (although it is highly questionable due to the war criminals) but I wouldn't be a very good Christian if I didn't speak out against this silly belief in kami. Here's what really happens to a persons souls when they die:
SALVATION I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for my sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified by His shed blood. (I Corinthians 15:1-4, II Corinthians 5:21, I Peter 2:24, Romans 5:9, I Peter 1:18-19)
I believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again by the Word through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and are thereby children of God and are eternally saved. (John 3:3, Galatians 3:24-26, I John 5:13, Romans 8:35).
In a nutshell, if you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you are going to Heaven. If you choose to reject His free gift of salvation from Hell, your soul will spend eternity there when you die. For more information, visit: http://www.maranathaokinawa.org/saved.htm and http://www.whatstandard.com/
2.) The museum was very slanted. See the photo I have posted about President Roosevelt. Oh yeah...Remember Pearl Harbor? I managed to find a tiny little sign in the museum that referred to it, but failed to mention it was an unprovoked, preemptive attack by Japan. If you missed this
one little sign, you would have gotten the impression that the United States attacked Japan first. How ridiculous is that! Another blatant omission of information had to do with the steam locomotive that was displayed in the main entrance. Simply stating that it traveled along the Thai-Burma rail line is an injustice to the Allied war prisoners who were actually transported by such steam engines and forced to build the actual railroad! They don't call it the Thai-Burma Death Railway for nothing!
I have displayed several photos of the museum's pathetic take on history!
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