Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:23 pm Post subject: Emperor Showa didn't approve of Yasukuni shrine visits
Emperor Showa was displeased that Yasukuni Shrine enshrined Class-A war criminals from World War II together with war dead, it was learned Thursday from a memorandum written by a former Imperial Household Agency official who has since died. "That is why I've since stopped visiting [the shrine]. That is how I feel in my heart," the emperor was quoted as saying in the memo written by then Imperial Household Agency Grand Steward Tomohiko Tomita in 1988 and released Thursday by his family.
The shrine in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, which was originally established in 1869, enshrined Class-A war criminals in 1978. The emperor's remarks suggest that he stopped visiting the shrine since it honored the war criminals along with the souls of war dead, totaling about 2.47 million, some of whom died in battles dating back to the 1860s.
It is the first time that a document including the emperor's remarks relating to the cessation of his shrine visits has been found, according to sources. Tomita's bereaved family said that he wrote down his conversations with the emperor in diaries and notebooks.
The emperor was quoted as saying in the memorandum dated April 28, 1988, "Class-A [war criminals] have been enshrined [with the war dead], even including Matsuoka and Shiratori." The emperor was likely referring to former Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka and former Ambassador to Italy Toshio Shiratori, who were among the 14 Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine, although one of the kanji characters for Shiratori's name in the memo differs from the correct character. Matsuoka and Shiratori played key roles in establishing the nation's alliance with Germany and Italy during the war, which resulted in a serious confrontation with Britain and the United States. The memorandum also states: "I wonder what was on the mind of Matsudaira's child, the current chief priest [of the shrine]. [The enshrinement was done] so easily. I thought Matsudaira had strong aspirations for peace." Here, the emperor was likely referring to Yoshitami Matsudaira, who served as Imperial household minister immediately after the end of World War II. Matsudaira's eldest son, Nagayoshi, was the chief priest of the shrine when the Class-A war criminals were enshrined with the war dead.
"I'd say the child did not know the parent's mind. That's why I've never visited the shrine since then. That's how I feel in my heart," the emperor was quoted as saying.
The emperor visited the shrine eight times after the end of World War II, with the last visit in November 1975. Neither the emperor himself nor government officials ever explained why he stopped visiting. While some people cited the enshrinement of Class-A war criminals as the reason, others argued that Yasukuni visits became politically controversial following a visit made by late Prime Minister Takeo Miki in 1975.
Tomita's memo is now seen to support the view that the emperor stopped visiting the shrine due to the enshrinement of Class-A war criminals. The current Emperor has not visited the shrine since he ascended to the throne. Tomita became deputy head of the Imperial Household Agency in 1974, and served as grand steward for 10 years from 1978. He was the third grand steward in the postwar period. He died in November 2003.
Source: The Daily Yomiuri, July 21st, 2006 _________________ Wer tanzen will, muss die Musik bezahlen
Ah well! If people want to hear that the wartime emperor had an independantly functioning conscience then bless them.
Next they'll find a stash of private letters in which the old emperor ruminates on skewed morality. The drama never ends, and it's better than sit-coms I 'spect.
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