Emperor Showa Yoyasukuni Shrine
From 1952 to 1975, Emperor Showa visited Yasukuni Shrine eight times. In 1978, after the Yasukuni Shrine honored Class-A war criminals, he stopped visiting. Nihon Keizai Shimbun (July 20, 2006) According to the notes of the relics of former Imperial Household Agency Governor Asahi Tomita, Emperor Showa had told Tomita that he had stopped visiting the shrine because he was displeased with the practice of joint worship.
More than 20 notes containing quotes from Emperor Showa were found in the relics of former Imperial Household Agency Commander Asahiko Tomita, including notes from April 28, 1988, one year before Emperor Showa's death, about Showa's views on the Yasukuni Shrine.
Emperor Showa said at the time, "The Tsukuba Shrine priest (priest) was very careful in handling the issue of the ceremony, but after replacing Matsudaira Nagayoshi, the eldest son of Matsudaira Keimin Palace, as the head of the palace, he did not understand his father's peace-loving ideas at all, and immediately decided to join the shrine, so he stopped visiting Yasukuni from then on, that is my belief."
The notes also record that Emperor Showa was asked for his views on the Great War at a birthday press conference on April 29 of that year, and Showa said that it was the worst memory of the Great War. After the meeting, Showa told Tomita that when asked how he felt about the war, he wanted to show his dislike of war.
According to statistics, during the war, Emperor Showa visited Yasukuni Shrine 18 times. On April 25, 1944, Emperor Showa wore a military uniform and led Hideki Tojo and others to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the military generals lined up to greet them.
