According to the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) reported on October 17, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio offered a sacrifice called "Makoto" to the Yasukuni Shrine during the "Autumn Festival".
As we all know, the Yasukuni Shrine enshrines 14 World War II Class A war criminals who committed heinous crimes. However, the yasukuni shrine's problems are much more than that. These Class A war criminals were secretly "worshipped" in 1978.
Tracing back to the source, what kind of existence does the Yasukuni Shrine really exist?
Visiting the Yasukuni Shrine is by no means a traditional folk custom
In 1869, Emperor Meiji ordered the creation of the "Tokyo Spirit-Summoning Society", which was later renamed "Yasukuni Shrine". After World War II, the Allies ordered the separation of church and state to the Japanese government, and the Yasukuni Shrine was separated from state administration and became a religious corporation.
Shrines are places of worship for Japanese Shintoism, a traditional indigenous religion in Japan that has been popular in Japan since the 5th century AD. As a result, many Japanese have given yasukuni shrines the cloak of traditional culture. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe once said in his book "To a Beautiful Country" that visiting the Yasukuni Shrine is a matter of Internal Affairs of Japan and an act of following traditional folk customs.
This is a big lie!
In fact, unlike the thousand-year-old Shinto tradition in Japan, the Yasukuni Shrine, which was only established in the Meiji period, has departed from the Tradition of Shintoism, while on the contrary, the Yasukuni Shrine is an important place to encourage the Japanese people to participate in the war of aggression and is the "national ancestral shrine" of the Meiji government.
From the beginning of its establishment, the Yasukuni Shrine was not a simple place of religious worship, but a spiritual temple of Japanese militarism.
Since its establishment, the shrine has been managed by the Japanese Ministry of the Army and Navy, and with state funds, it is decorated with chrysanthemum coats of arms for the exclusive use of the imperial family.
There are 4 huge chrysanthemums on the Yasukuni Shrine
The Yasukuni Shrine vigorously propagated and instilled the spirit of Bushido, played an important role in all the wars of foreign aggression launched by Japan, and became the spiritual pillar for promoting militarism and an educational tool for encouraging Japanese people to dedicate themselves to militarism.
During World War II, the Japanese militarist government mobilized the Japanese people to participate in the war, and drove the Japanese soldiers to fight desperately by meeting the gods at the Yasukuni Shrine after martyrdom. Before going to the battlefield of aggression, Japanese soldiers would visit here and swear that "entering the Yasukuni Shrine after death" would become their spiritual strength to fight on the battlefield of aggression.
As the Japanese philosopher Tetsuya Takahashi put it, "The Yasukuni Shrine is an ideological and religious device that mobilizes the people toward war." ”
Who is enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine?
The Yasukuni Shrine is dedicated to some 2.46 million people who died fighting for the Japanese government (or the emperor) in various wars since the Bochen War. Of these, 2.1 million died in World War II, including 14 World War II Class A war criminals and about 2,000 Class B and C war criminals.
Of the 14 Class-A war criminals enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine, with the exception of Toshio Shiratori, the remaining 13 were directly involved in the war of aggression against China or were seriously responsible for Japan's formulation and implementation of the policy of aggression against China.
Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo was the head of the Japanese fascist ruling clique and one of the main decision-makers in the War of Aggression against the Soviet Union, the War of Aggression against China, and the War of the Pacific.
In 1935, Hideki Tojo was appointed commander of the gendarmerie of the Japanese Kwantung Army, and in the name of "strengthening law and order", he arrested and slaughtered a large number of anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in northeast China with "razor efficiency". During the "July 7" incident, as the vanguard of the all-out invasion of China, he led the "Dongtiao Corps" to invade Chengde, Zhangjiakou, Datong, Baotou and other places. From 1940 to 1941, Hideki Tojo served as Minister of War and strongly advocated further expansion of the war of aggression against China and the launching of the war against the Soviet Union.
In 1941, Tojo issued a "battle front training" that promoted the spirit of fascism, asking soldiers to "give orders and gladly die" and "it is common to think unfreely." In October 1941, Tojo became prime minister and preached in the "Established National Policy" that "the completion of the Indochina Incident and the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" were preached.
Kotaro Kimura
Kitaro Kimura, the "artillery expert" of the Japanese Army, is a butcher who kills people without blinking. In April 1939, Kitamura, who was the commander of the 32nd Division of the Japanese Army invading China, led more than 8,000 Japanese troops to sweep the Anti-Japanese Base Area in Lunan Province, ordered soldiers to carry out bloody massacres against unarmed Chinese civilians, and imprisoned more than 2,000 people in the Concentration Camp of Xinhuayuan in Jinan as coolies. Since then, tens of thousands of Chinese laborers have been abducted from here every year to the mines of Northeast China and Japan.
In 1944, Kimura was appointed commander of the Burma Front when the Japanese army was facing a total rout. He ordered his subordinates to torture and massacre Burmese civilians and prisoners, resulting in the Yangon Massacre, known as the "Burmese Butchers".
Hirota Hiroshi
Hirota Hirohito was one of the masterminds of the Lugou Bridge Incident and plotted to prop up the puppet regime of Wang Jingwei. In 1906, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as director of the European and American Bureau, ambassador to the Soviet Union, and served as foreign minister for many times, promoting tough diplomacy with China. In 1935, Hirota Hiroshi put forward the infamous "Hirota Three Principles", namely: banning anti-Japanese, recognizing puppet Manchuria, jointly defending the Communists, and stepping up aggression against China. From March 1936 to January 1937, he served as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, concluded the "Anti-Comintern Pact" between Japan, Germany and Italy, and established a puppet regime of the "North China Political Affairs Committee" in China.
Kenji Toihara
Kenji Toihara, the leader of the spy invasion of China. He began his espionage career in China for more than 30 years, beginning in 1913. He has lived in China for a long time, has contact with people from all walks of life, speaks fluent Chinese, is a famous "China Pass" in the Japanese Army's secret service system, and is also a backbone member engaged in espionage and conspiracy activities in China. During his stay in China, Doihara co-opted warlords and provoked civil unrest in order to facilitate Japan's aggression and control over China, and also participated in the planning of the "September 18" incident and the "North China Autonomy Movement" with the goal of splitting China.
Matsui Ishine
Matsui Ishigen, the culprit of the Nanjing Massacre. As the commander of the Central China Front, he once ordered the occupation of Nanjing, "the division swept the city", creating the Nanjing Massacre, which was a terrible massacre and shocked the world, and more than 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were slaughtered. The Japanese army also carried out a large-scale robbery and arson in Nanjing, destroying one-third of the historic city and causing countless property losses.
In addition, there were Itagaki Seishiro, the main criminal of the "September 18" incident, Muto Akira, a conspirator who expanded the war of aggression against China, Yoshiyuki Matsuoka, the creator of public opinion on the invasion of China, Hideshi Nagano, the instigator of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Toshio Shiratori, the drummer of foreign aggression, The Japanese fascist godfather Hiranuma Kiichiro, the culprit of the suppression of the Korean people, Kuniaki Koiso, the executioner Umezu Mijiro who brutally murdered the military and people of Northeast China, and Shigeru Togo, the mastermind of the frenzied expansion.
They are all executioners whose hands are stained with the blood of the peoples of the world and the people of Chinese, and all of them are historical sinners who have committed heinous crimes against world peace and humanity.
How were Class A war criminals enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine?
How did these heinous Class A war criminals come to be enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine?
On October 17, 1978, 14 Japanese Class-A war criminals were enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine under the name of "martyrs of the Showa era."
According to multiple documents, Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare led the whole process of the war criminals' joint sacrifice and kept it a secret from the outside world from beginning to end.
Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare began preparations for the joint worship of war criminals in 1956, and since then has held several secret "meetings". On February 8, 1966, the Ministry of Health and Welfare submitted a "list of worshippers" to the Yasukuni Shrine, including Class-A war criminals. In October 1978, the Yasukuni Shrine secretly transferred 14 Class-A war criminals to the shrine and completed the long-planned sacrifice of Class-A war criminals.
Why Sacrifice? Kazuo Aoki (a former Minister of East Asia in tojo's cabinet), who was a major advocate of the Joint Sacrifice of Class A war criminals, once said blatantly: "If the Joint Sacrifice is not practiced, it is tantamount to acknowledging the outcome of the Tokyo Trial." In 1978, Matsudaira Nagayoshi, who was then miyaji of the yasukuni shrine, declared in a magazine: "The spirit of Japan cannot be revived without denying the historical view of the Tokyo Trials." ”
The enshrinement of Class-A war criminals at the Yasukuni Shrine in the name of "martyrs of the Showa era" nakedly reveals that the Japanese militarists are unwilling to cover up the historical truth, deny responsibility for the war, and overturn the case for the war of aggression.
On October 17, 2015, The Imperial Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, Yasukuni Shrine Offering Festival
Turn black and white upside down and beautify the war of aggression
The Yasukuni Shrine not only enshrines war criminals who have committed heinous crimes, but is also a place to glorify the history of Japanese aggression and praise the Japanese aggressors.
This is evidenced by the exhibition of "Yu YuKan" inside the Yasukuni Shrine.
A tourist attraction inside the Yasukuni Shrine
The Yasukuni Shrine's "Yushikan" was the main venue for the shrine to publicize and beautify the war of aggression.
Here, the Japanese flag signed by 14 Class A war criminals in prison is displayed, and the commentary reads "The sun will rise again."
Here, aggression is not called aggression, but "entry"; the war of aggression launched by Japan is "the war fought by the Japanese to defend Japan"; the judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East is described as a falsification of "true history" and "a crime against the honor, pride and dignity of the Japanese people".
Inside the shrine, a photograph of the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun reporting on the restoration of peace in Nanjing and the welcoming of the imperial army by residents was also displayed in a grand manner. The picture shows the mighty Japanese troops marching into the city and the Chinese people with blurred expressions, standing on both sides of the road waving the Japanese flag.
Yasukuni Shrine exhibits and exhibits
As Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the Foreign Ministry's regular press conference on October 18, the Yasukuni Shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of The Japanese militarism's war of aggression against the outside world, enshrined 14 Class-A war criminals of World War II who committed heinous crimes. The negative trend of the Japanese side on the Yasukuni Shrine issue once again reflects the negative attitude of the Japanese side toward its own history of aggression.
It is hoped that the Japanese side will earnestly abide by its stance and commitment to face up to and reflect on the history of aggression, be cautious in its words and deeds on historical issues such as the Yasukuni Shrine, thoroughly cut off militarism, and win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community with practical actions.
Resources:
1. CCTV News Client: Kishida Fumio offers sacrifices to the Yasukuni Shrine
2. World Wide Web: News! Kishida Fumio offered sacrifices to the Yasukuni Shrine in the name of the Prime Minister of Japan
3. Guangming Daily: Yasukuni Shrine: The spiritual symbol of Japanese militarism
4. People's Daily News: What kind of historical outlook is being preached at the Yasukuni Shrine?
5. People's Daily Overseas Edition: What is the essence of Yasukuni Shrine?
6. Global Times: Yasukuni Shrine believes that the war of aggression against China is the suppression of banditry and terrorism
7. People's Daily: People's Daily counts Class-A war criminals enshrined in the Yasukuni Shrine
8. People's Daily News: Illustration: Ten things you may not know about yasukuni Shrine
9. Global Network: Kishida Fumio offered sacrifices to the Yasukuni Shrine yesterday, Zhao Lijian: The Chinese side has made solemn representations to the Japanese side!
10. Xinhua Net: Shinzo Abe offers sacrifices to the Yasukuni Shrine
11. Step flat. Where is the crux of the "Yasukuni Shrine" problem[N]. Unity Daily, 2015-07-09(007).
12. "Crossing the War: Japan's Understanding of War Responsibility", Bu Ping, Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2011.
13. Zhao Jianwen, "Japan's State Responsibility on the Yasukuni Shrine Issue", from "Legal Understanding Across Borders: A Study on the Frontier Issues of the Rule of Law in China and Japan", edited by Li Lin, Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2008.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Qin Hong Text Editor: Fang Ying Title Image Source: Xinhua News Agency (Infographic) Photo Editor: Shao Jing
Source: Author: China anti-cult WeChat public account