Newest Yasukuni Shrine Controversy

With only six months left in the Heisei Emperor's reign left to go, Emperor Akihito and the Yasukuni Shrine (as seen in this AFP photo) have become the subject of a new controversy. The  had recently criticized the Emperor in the Shukan Post weekly magazine accusing him of "trying to destroy the shrine" which is best known for enshrining it's war dead going back to the Boshin War of the 1860's. Naturally, all controversies revolve around the enshrinement of twelve WWII Class A War Criminals including Hideki Tojo. Emperor Akihito has not visited the Shrine since he was made Emperor in 1989 but has been visiting the grave sites and memorials to Japan's War dead elsewhere. Japan Today reports that the new Emperor and Empress has no plans to visit the shrine to avoid such optics. Meanwhile, chief priest Kunio Kohori has since regretted his inappropriate comments that included a claim that the future empress hating Shinto. From our perspective, this is a very unfortunate event that will hopefully not mar or cast a dark shadow over the Twilight of the Heisei Era. We like Emperor Akihito and we also love Shinto. This should not have happened and we suspect there was a harsh reprimand from the Imperial Household Agency. Chief priest Kunio Kohori has since apologized for his comments and is said to resign from his position. A successor will be named at some future date.

Bomb Explodes at Yasukuni Shrine

In an event we never thought we would ever see happen, someone deliberately detonated a bomb at Japan's Yashukuni Shrine. The revered Shinto Shrine which houses Japan's war dead going all the way back to Japan's Boshin War of the 1860's has long been the subject of controversy due to the enshrinement of a handful of convicted war criminals who are enshrined there, most notably Hideki Tojo - Japan's wartime prime minister. While being a private institution and not a public one it still receives heavy criticism from China and the Koreas. The bomb itself is reported to have been a small device that was dropped through a drilled hole in a public toilet ceiling near the South Gate did little damage, no one was reported hurt. As of latest reporting from Tokyo has relayed, damage was contained to the toilet and did not cause destruction to the Shrine itself. So far no one has claimed responsibility for this attempted desecration of this sacred site akin to our own Arlington National Cemetery. There are over 12 million war dead enshrined there, too many to justify any such action in protest of the 12 Class A convicts there. We at American Mishima believe this is unlikely the result of any of the current terrorism that is taking place around the world at the hands of extremists. Until more is known about this attack, the Shrine has temporarily closed its gates to visitors until further notice. If you are planning to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, please check with their website at Yasukuni Shrine to ensure hours and conditions of operation.

一日の画像 - Picture of the Day

Seen here are the men enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine honoring over 2 Million of Japan's War Dead going back to the Boshin War. The Yasukuni Shrine is privately funded and despite the never ending objections by China & Korea over visits by Japanese Politicians ( due to the presence of 14 Class A War Criminals), it remains as China itself would regard as an internal matter. On this 68th Anniversary of the end of the Pacific War, we choose to take a moment out to remember the men of all nations who fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. May the tragic lessons of these enshrined men be not forgotten unto the future generations so that war may never be revisited upon Japan nor the world again.

Remembering the Fall of Edo Castle

One hundred forty five years ago saw the Surrender of Edo Castle and thus ending two hundred sixty six years of Tokugawa rule. The decision to surrender was made by Katsu Kaishu in an effort to avoid any pointless bloodshed. With Shogun Yohinobu's abdication and the threat of annihilation by the encroaching forces of the newly minted Imperial Army under Satsuma's Saigo Takamori, it was Kaishu who sought a meeting with Saigo Takamori to negotiate a peaceful settlement. It's often overlooked yet not entirely forgotten credit for both the bloodless surrender and the survival of the Tokugawa family is the role of Lady Tenshoin, the widow of the 13^th Shogun Iesada. It is said that she contributed to the negotiations to appeal to Takamori's heart so that the Tokugawa's could survive. Her contribution was widely depicted in the 47^th NHK Taiga Drama Atsuhime. 

Upon receipt of a written letter from Kaishu, Imperial Commander Saigo Takamori agreed to meet with Kaishu one day before the planned attack on Edo Castle. They met on March 14^th 1868 and reached a peaceful settlement paving the way for Japan to enter the Meiji Era and the modern world. The Boshin War as it was known dragged on for another year by die hard loyalists who retreated to the north forming the short lived Republic of Ezo until their defeat at Hakodate in 1869, the year the Samurai World had come to an End. 

  So what of the players of this real life drama?

For Lady Tenshoin better known to modern audiences as Princess Atsu or Atsuhime, her life would continue nurturing the Tokugawa heir Iesato until her quiet death from Parkinson's disease at the relatively young age of 49 in 1883. Had she not played her part, Edo Castle would have been turned into a blood bath and a certain heir to the Tokugawa family who in another life would be today's Shogun would not be alive today teaching as a professor in present day Chicago. She is entombed next to Shogun Iesada. As much as she was at the time of her death, she had thousands line the streets for her funeral procession. After the airing of the 47th NHK Taiga drama, the cemetery housing her tomb was temporarily opened to the public for three days in a most unprecedented move by Japanese standards as grave viewings are not part of Japanese Culture as they are in the West. Over ten thousand people came to visit, many of them weeping.

Katsu Kaishu continued to live on and became part of the New Meiji Government continuing his work developing a modern Navy. His was a most fascinating life starting with his famous voyage to America in 1860 aboard the Kanrin Maru as it's captain, to the forming of the first Shogunate Naval Academies, to the mentor ship of legendary reformer and father of modern Japan Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa. His role in Japan's entry into the modern world could not be any more understated nor should it be overlooked by any means. Before his death, he had been elevated to the Imperial Court as Hakushaku or Count. His memoirs are contained in the book Hikawa Seiwa. He died an Elder Statesman 1899 but not forgotten by history or in our hearts. On our own cruise of San Francisco Bay on the 150th Anniversary of the Kanrin Maru's voyage to San Francisco, we followed the actual footsteps of Katsu Kaishu and for a moment we were sure his spirit was there with us.

As for Imperial Commander Saigo Takamori of the Satsuma Domain, Irony was not without it's fate. The very man who played a principle role in that end would rise up eight years later and stage the Satsuma Rebellion which ended any notion that Samurai privilege could be restored in modern Japan. Saigo Takamori was killed in the final battle of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, a futile struggle that became the inspiration for the fictional Samurai tale from Hollywood 2003's The Last Samurai. In an unrelated Irony, the name The Last Samurai was given to the first film made in 1974 depicting the Satsuma Rebellion. Why Hollywood chose to recycle the title is beyond reason. A more recent depiction of Saigo's tragic Rebellion and bloody end can be seen depicted in the more recent film Hanjiro. 

It's estimated that during the two year war some six thousand men died fighting for Japan many of them enshrined at the Yasukuni Shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo.  To find out more or to visit this privately funded Shinto Shrine please visit Yasukuni Shrine.