Nope...in case u're wondering, this is
not the name of some burger off the menu at the MOS Burger outlet. This first item on my bucket list for the trip, and also the first place I paid a visit to in Japan after settling my accommodation matters, is none other than the highly controversial Yasukuni Jinjia (war shrine). I've taught this example for GP countless times, so much so that I need to see it for myself, and tread on the very ground on which the shrine had been erected. For those still dwelling in the well, croaking away in ignorance, this is the sacred shrine where the Japanese war dead were buried, including the controversial Class A war criminals from World War II. Each time Japanese ministers (including the PM) go there to pay their respects, China and South Korea will rise in protest and threaten to sever bilateral ties. With so much explosive hoo-har going about this sacred site, how can I not leave my Dark Shadow footprints there? (not that anyone's gonna protest about my visit there, nor is it going to raise any storm in any tea cup!) So u can imagine my sense of anticipation as I took the train there....and finally, I was greeted by the portal marking one of the entrances to the shrine:
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| the stone lion guarding the entrance, next to a wooden plaque spelling out 'Yasukuni Jinjia' in kanji characters |
And here we are....apparently, the place behind the veil is where the Class A war criminals are laid to rest, I think. I didn't dare to ask anyone. Can you imagine me asking, 'So is this where all the WWII Class A war criminals are buried?' I may be naïve, but I'm not stupid! They may be war criminals to us, but to the Japs, these are heroes, patriots who died for their nation! Periodically, people will go up there, bow, clasp their hands together and utter a prayer for the deceased. And in my mind I was thinking, so this is where all the evil soldiers who caused so much misery to our people during WWII are buried, including that guy called Yamashita (whom I studied about in secondary school) who presided over Singapore during the Japanese Occupation. Should I 'grace' the holy site with my spit? I was half tempted to do an Ai Weiwei by taking a snapshot of me flashing my finger (nope, not the thumb, but the phallic middle finger) in the foreground, with the sacred shrine in the background, a la the infamous photos that China's controversial modern artist Ai Weiwei is infamous for (see pic below). However, this exciting thought was quickly snuffed out. A guard nearby was eyeing me suspiciously, so the coward in me quickly beat a hasty retreat after snapping a few 'safe' shots.
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| the veil, behind which I think the war criminals are buried |
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| Ai Weiwei's controversial photo -- giving the 'finger' to the Forbidden City in the background. No wonder he was arrested. Try doing that to the Merlion or the Istana and see what happens! |
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a leaf I plucked from a tree near the shrine when no one's looking....and damn, what an ugly tattered leaf!
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One thing though... there was a small museum near the shrine where u can see a humane side to the whole controversy, Here on display are letters written by the Jap soldiers to their loved ones, be it their wife, children or aged parents.....English translation is available, and u start to realise that at the end of the day, these soldiers are humans too. There is a certain poignancy in their letters, esp when they were writing with the premonition that they would not be coming back home alive. Some critics have lambasted this as romanticising the Japs' part in the war, but it brought home the lesson that in a war, nobody wins. I also stumbled upon something I never knew before. Apparently, according to the exhibits there, the Japanese tried to negotiate a truce with the Americans (this was before the Pearl Harbour Bombing) but were rebuffed. But of course, this needs further verification. But if this is true, it will put a whole new twist to my understanding of the political dynamics during WWII.
