I'll write a piece about Yasukuni Shrine, the Shinto style shrine. Japanese troops stopped fighting in the Greater East Asian War on Aug. 15th in 1945 at least on the face of it. Since then the day, Aug. 15th, has been recognized as the day the war ended. On this day every year, lots of Japanese people visit Shinto shrines designated as places of worship for those who died not only in the last war, but various wars before it. Those shrines are called Gokoku Jinja, literally meaning "protect Japan", which spread throughout Japan. The iconic one is Yasukuni Shrine.
I had been thinking of buying a new suitcase by November, which wasn't sold in my hometown, and went to Tokyo on Aug. 15th. It was for the visit to Yasukuni Shrine that I had chosen this day. People in Japan calmly recall how the wars are cruel and pray for peace in the world on this day. Only two nations in Asia, China and Korea, criticize us, insisting that the Japanese want to wage war, but they miss the whole point. In front of me, lots of Chinese, Korean and their followers got together and seriously affected the peaceful and serene atmosphere in the grounds of the shrine. I will never forgive them. I tried to take some snapshots, but a riot policeman stopped me, saying that I might become their target and should not take pictures. I followed his advice.
Comments