日本語ページ Japanese page

The claims of employee volunteers of Yasukuni Shrine.



Introduction

 We are employee volunteers of Yasukuni Shrine.
 Since the end of the war, there has been a wide spectrum of opinion regarding our shrine and its ideology.
 However, official comments to the public from shrine authorities have been scarce.
 We employee volunteers have become extremely impatient with the way shrine authorities have been handling this issue.
 Therefore, we employees of Yasukuni Shrine have resolved to use this site as an avenue for expressing our ideas.


1. Yasukuni Shrine is not a "Memorial Institution"

 Our shrine is not a memorial institution.
 It is not a place to pray for the repose of the souls of those who died in the war.
 It is a place to hold on to and revere the war dead as gods.
 We are not the ones who save. The worshippers are the ones in the position to save.
 This is a fundamental difference between Shinto and other religions such as Buddhism. To say they are diametrically opposed would likely not be an overstatement.
 And, the shrine has completely different nature from that of tombs where bodies or bones of fallen soldiers are buried.

 Were we any other shrine, we believe this would be understood without difficulty.
 Amaterasu, the Japanese Goddess of the Sun, is enshrined at the Grand Shrine of Ise while Emperor Meiji is enshrined as a god at the Meiji Shrine.
 The people that go to worship at the Grand Shrine of Ise are likely doing so for support from Amaterasu.
Even if "support" is too strong of an expression, we are convinced that they are at least of the feeling that "it would be nice if something good happened thanks to Amaterasu".
 Even in the case of Meiji Shrine, we believe it unlikely that anyone is going there with the intent of praying for the repose of the soul of Emperor Meiji.
 We believe they all are worshipping for the support of the deified Emperor Meiji or at least for the feeling that "it would be nice if something good happened thanks to Emperor Meiji".
Shrines established "to console" departed souls such as Daizaifu Tenman-gu do exist. However, that feeling of "consolation" is likely absent from today's worshippers compared to the time of the founding of the shrines with frequent occurrences of extraordinary phenomena attributed to departed souls. We suspect people are now worshipping for support in academic achievement.
 Our shrine is no different.
 At Yasukuni Shrine, we do not have a single central deity. The numerous war dead are each and every one a god.
 Even after death, they continue to protect their country as spirits.
 It would be completely arrogant and uncalled-for from the position of worshippers to say to these gods, "I will pray for your eternal repose".
 Yasukuni Shrine is not a place for this.
 We ask that anyone wishing to worship in such a supercilious manner towards these gods please refrain from visiting.


2. Spirits of the War Dead related to the Greater East Asian War

 The Greater East Asian War was a righteous war to deliver liberation from the Asian colonial occupation of the great Western powers.
 Unfortunately, Japan paid a considerable cost but that objective was accomplished and the nations of Asia became independent.
 The spirits of the war dead enshrined in our shrine gave their lives for this venerable deed.
 We worship these men as gods.

 We personally believe that, with regards to this righteous Greater East Asian War, there is absolutely no need for an apology or regret from the Japanese state.
 We believe there is absolutely no need to bear responsibility for the war.
Accusations such as it having been a "war of aggression" are also outrageous.
 Of course, we in no way recognize the ludicrous farce that was the "Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal" imposed by enemy nations.
 These are the opinions of us employee volunteers.
 We believe you will understand these opinions of ours if you visit the affiliated "Yushukan" museum within Yasukuni Shrine.

 Furthermore, we fully trust that each and every worshipper to our shrine will agree with our position.
 Even for those who need to (or are forced) vocalize "apology and regret" due to external circumstances, we believe the fact that they worship at our shrine shows that they feel in their hearts that the Greater East Asian War was a righteous one.
 It is with this attitude that we welcome all worshippers.


3. Showa Era Martyrs

 Following the Greater East Asian War, formerly hostile countries began to accuse the wartime leaders of Japan of being "war criminals" and barbarously murdered them in the ludicrous farce that was the "Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal".
 It seems obvious to us that these casualties who gave their lives under these circumstances for their country would be enshrined as "Showa era martyrs".
 We are fully aware of the criticism both domestic and international. In particular, the former enemy nations that presided over the farce are likely not amused.
 However, this is our "freedom of religion". No interference shall be accepted. We will not allow it.
 No one whatsoever has the power to stop our enshrinement of Showa era martyrs.
 It seems there is the occasional idea of "separate enshrinement of war criminals" but this is a completely nonsensical argument.
 By enshrining the Showa era martyrs anew in a separate location, this does not mean that those spirits will disappear from their original location. In other words, the spirits of the Showa era martyrs will continue to exist as usual in Yasukuni Shrine。
It is, therefore, completely meaningless because we cannot comply with the requests of those who are in favor of separate enshrinement because they do not wish to worship the Showa era martyrs.
 We have no intention of doing such a nonsensical thing.
For those who claim, "I cannot worship as long as you do not separately enshrine war criminals", we ask that you please refrain from visiting.


4. Intervention by Politicians

 We, Yasukuni Shrine, are an independent religious organization. We are not a national institution.
 We are not government employees.
 Any attempt to intervene, whether by a private citizen or an authority-wielding politician, is an absolute infringement upon our "freedom of religion".
Actions intent on intervening with us such as making statements for us to "separately enshrine war criminals" are complete violations of our "freedom of religion".
 However, at the present moment, it seems that even the politicians who make these sort of remarks have no plans to use force.
 For example, as terrible as it would be, it seems that at this time there is no fear of the police or bailiffs taking our chief priest by the neck and forcing him to "separately enshrine" the Showa era martyrs.
 Consequently, we have decided to ignore the ravings of politicians for "separate enshrinement" for the foreseeable future.
 Under ordinary circumstances, we would like to greatly denounce these politicians as violators of "freedom of religion" but we are refraining from these activities because some of them are large contributors to our shrine.


5. Enshrinement of Heathens

 We occasionally receive opinions opposed to enshrinement from Christian and other heathen surviving families of those who died in the war.
 However, whom we choose to enshrine or not to enshrine is our right. This is also our "freedom of religion".
 We have no intention of checking with surviving family members when enshrining recipients of national orders of merit. This is because we feel that spirits of the war dead who sacrificed themselves for their country are no longer something to be controlled by their surviving relatives alone.
 We have been sued in the past by a number of insensitive families. They said, "Do not enshrine our loved because we are Christian."
 Going as far as to use the courts to try to stop our enshrinement is, quite simply, a violation of our "freedom of religion".
 Fortunately, the courts accepted our claim and the insensitive appeal of the infringers was dismissed.
 In the future, the overseas deployment of troops may grow leading to the appearance of martyrs in the Self-Defense Forces. Which martyr will or will not be enshrined will be determined by us and us alone. We have no intention of consulting anyone from an outside organization.
 No one may prevent this.
 Our "freedom of religion" cannot be stopped by anyone.

6. In Conclusion

To summarize our claims:

@.Yasukuni Shrine is not a place to pray for the repose of the souls of those who died in the war but a place to revere them as gods.

A.The Greater East Asian War was a righteous war to liberate the nations of Asia from colonial occupation by the great Western powers.

B.The Showa era martyrs dubbed as "class-A war criminals" by the ludicrous farce that was the "Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal" are spirits of the war dead who sacrificed their lives for their country.

C.Claims by politicians that Showa era martyrs "should be enshrined separately" are infringements upon our "freedom of religion".

D.Those who sacrificed their lives for their country, regardless of whether they were heathens, may be enshrined. We have no intention of getting the approval of surviving family members. This is also our "freedom of religion".

The above summarizes our claims from each prior page.

 This is not the official page of Yasukuni Shrine. It is a page created by employee volunteers to voice their true feelings. Accordingly, the claims made within are not the official position of Yasukuni Shrine.
 However, we are confident that these opinions are basically in line with those of the shrine.
 If you were to question the authorities of Yasukuni Shrine on the pros and cons of this site's content, they would likely quietly condone it without denial or opposition.

 Furthermore, we believe that all of you who worship at our shrine, putting aside what you may say in public, agree with the type of claims we have made on this site in your heart.
 However, if by some chance you do not, we would like to please ask that you refrain from visiting our shrine.
 It is inconceivable to worship at a religious institution whose views you do not share. Bowing one's head with a rebellious heart is simply feigned worship. We refuse to accept this sort of feigned worship. We believe this is the same in all religious institutions, not simply Shinto.


LINK
Yasukun shrine official site








inserted by FC2 system