Comments on: A Day At Yasukuni Shrine http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/ A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:30:35 -0800 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Anna H http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/comment-page-1/#comment-20409 Anna H Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:12:05 +0000 http://blog.alientimes.org/?p=1074#comment-20409 Hi Avi-san, Your articles are always full of interesting stuff. A lot of it new even to an oldtimer like myself. I heard about memorials for animals used in experiments but I never attened one. In my house now we have a nest of swallows. the mom & dad is feeding their young ones and they are not at all afraid of us anymore and we get to have a glimpse of the tiny tiny birds. My father in law absolutely belives that having their nest at our house will bring us luck and politely but sternly ignores the neighbours complaint about the birds being unsanitary.....anyway, just wanted to say that I really enjoy your articles. Anna Hamakoji Hi Avi-san,
Your articles are always full of interesting stuff.
A lot of it new even to an oldtimer like myself.
I heard about memorials for animals used in experiments
but I never attened one.
In my house now we have a nest of swallows. the mom & dad is feeding their young ones and they are not at all afraid of us anymore and we get to have a glimpse of the tiny tiny
birds. My father in law absolutely belives that having their nest at our house will bring us luck and politely but sternly ignores the neighbours complaint about the birds being unsanitary…..anyway, just wanted to say that I really enjoy your articles.
Anna Hamakoji

]]> By: Avi http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/comment-page-1/#comment-20377 Avi Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:15:30 +0000 http://blog.alientimes.org/?p=1074#comment-20377 Yes, Shaney, it is interesting and also VERY MOVING for me. Especially how people bring offerings of food and water.I was surprised that none of the major English language guide books to Tokyo mention the animal monuments in their entries on Yasukuni. I think it is worthy of note even amidst all the controversy of the shrine. Have you ever noticed the memorials for sacrificed experimental animals in Tsukuba? They are also well attended to and regularly given offerings. Check out Elmer Veldkamps`s recent presentation at a workshop at Yale. Its entitled- Animal Monuments and Memorials in pre-war Japan and post war developments. It might be interesting for you. I think that it would be interesting for him to come to Tsukuba and see how the spirits ofs animal are appealed or consoled to in local folk customs. Yes, Shaney, it is interesting and also VERY MOVING for me. Especially how people bring offerings of food and water.I was surprised that none of the major English language guide books to Tokyo mention the animal monuments in their entries on Yasukuni. I think it is worthy of note even amidst all the controversy of the shrine.
Have you ever noticed the memorials for sacrificed experimental animals in Tsukuba? They are also well attended to and regularly given offerings.
Check out Elmer Veldkamps`s recent presentation at a workshop at Yale. Its entitled- Animal Monuments and Memorials
in pre-war Japan and post war developments. It might be interesting for you.
I think that it would be interesting for him to come to Tsukuba and see how the spirits ofs animal are appealed or consoled to in local folk customs.

]]> By: Avi http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/comment-page-1/#comment-20376 Avi Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:01:38 +0000 http://blog.alientimes.org/?p=1074#comment-20376 Dan, You always come to mind when I think about the Tokyo Tribunals! The DVD version of PRIDE seemed to be selling well at The Yasukuni Shrine gift shop. I hope you are getting royalties. It would be intertesting if you could write about your experience of being involved in the making of that film.I remember you telling me how Scott Wilson(who played prosecutor Joseph Keenan) was not very much fun to work with. What was director Shunya Itoh like? One thing that I realized years after seeing the film was that star Masahiko Tsugawa,must be an old friend of outspoken Right Wing Tokyo Governor Ishihara.His film debut in 1956 was in the classic KURUTTA KAJITSU(CRAZED FRUIT) starring beside Ishihara`s late great brother Yujiro. The then youthful governor makes a cameo appearance, AND he wrote the script. You should watch this film ,which even back then has Ishihara warning about the evils of westernization. After you see it, watch A Place In the Sun, with Elizabeth Taylor. You`ll be in for a surprise. Anyway Tsuguwa and Ishihara go way back. Its always puzzling that Japanese Right-Wingers are so eager to have Hideki Tojo`s reputation rehabilitated. He was a rich and powerful man whose incompetence, poor judgement, and especially ambition and PRIDE led to the deaths of millions(of common Japanese) and the destruction of the country. More importantly from the standpoint of the Emperor-Revering Rightists should be that he greatly ENDANGERED the life of the Emperor through his policies. If it were not for MacArthurs obssessive Anti-Communism and desire to use Japan to help stop expansion of the USSR, the Emperor would surely have been tried as well. Also, as a proper Japanese warrior, he should have taken his own life, thus avoiding trial and atoning for his failure. He even failed at that. I think that if the Revisionists want to make a stronger point, instead of making Tojo into a victim ,a film should be made about the Americans who would have been tried as war criminals if Japan had won the war. Leading the list in my opinion is Curtis Lemay, who pushed through the policy of aerial bombing which was devised with THE INTENTION TO KILL AS MANY CIVILIANS AS POSSIBLE. He did a fine job of that. Ironically he was decorated by the Showa Emperor for his services. Im waiting for your ON THE SET notes, Dan. Aloha Dan, You always come to mind when I think about the Tokyo Tribunals! The DVD version of PRIDE seemed to be selling well at The Yasukuni Shrine gift shop. I hope you are getting royalties.
It would be intertesting if you could write about your experience of being involved in the making of that film.I remember you telling me how Scott Wilson(who played prosecutor Joseph Keenan) was not very much fun to work with.
What was director Shunya Itoh like?
One thing that I realized years after seeing the film was that
star Masahiko Tsugawa,must be an old friend of outspoken Right Wing Tokyo Governor Ishihara.His film debut in 1956 was in the classic KURUTTA KAJITSU(CRAZED FRUIT) starring beside Ishihara`s late great brother Yujiro. The then youthful governor makes a cameo appearance, AND he wrote the script.
You should watch this film ,which even back then has Ishihara warning about the evils of westernization. After you see it, watch A Place In the Sun, with Elizabeth Taylor. You`ll be in for a surprise. Anyway Tsuguwa and Ishihara go way back.

Its always puzzling that Japanese Right-Wingers are so eager to have Hideki Tojo`s reputation rehabilitated. He was a rich and powerful man whose incompetence, poor judgement, and especially ambition and PRIDE led to the deaths of millions(of common Japanese) and the destruction of the country. More importantly from the standpoint of the Emperor-Revering Rightists should be that
he greatly ENDANGERED the life of the Emperor through his policies. If it were not for MacArthurs obssessive Anti-Communism and desire to use Japan to help stop expansion of the USSR, the Emperor would surely have been tried as well.
Also, as a proper Japanese warrior, he should have taken his own life, thus avoiding trial and atoning for his failure. He even failed at that.

I think that if the Revisionists want to make a stronger point, instead of making Tojo into a victim ,a film should be made about the Americans who would have been tried as war criminals if Japan had won the war. Leading the list in my opinion is Curtis Lemay, who pushed through the policy of aerial bombing which was devised with THE INTENTION TO KILL AS MANY CIVILIANS AS POSSIBLE. He did a fine job of that.
Ironically he was decorated by the Showa Emperor for his services.
Im waiting for your ON THE SET notes, Dan.
Aloha

]]> By: Shaney http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/comment-page-1/#comment-20328 Shaney Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:14:28 +0000 http://blog.alientimes.org/?p=1074#comment-20328 Great article, Avi. I was interested to hear about the animals that are enshrined there. Great article, Avi. I was interested to hear about the animals that are enshrined there.

]]> By: Dan Waldhoff http://blog.alientimes.org/2008/08/a-day-at-yasukuni-shrine/comment-page-1/#comment-20313 Dan Waldhoff Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:24:20 +0000 http://blog.alientimes.org/?p=1074#comment-20313 Aloha Avi, As a Judge in the Tokyo War Crimes Trial (the movie version) I know that the winner writes the rules and history. As a coward (in real life) I avoid any situation in which I might take the stray bullet (in the USA) or punch (in Japan) when things get out of control - and Yasukuni seems to be building to that kind of situation. It is certainly becoming a most highly charged place on August 15. I observe that much of Japan's foreign and domestic policy seems to be formulated in Washington and can appreciate that many Japanese might disapprove of external pressures. I think that the Class A War Criminals at Yasukuni, regardless of what they did and how bad they might have been, are and will remain dead and thus not likely to trouble anyone again except when August 15 rolls around next year. Thanks for your interesting report! Dan Aloha Avi,

As a Judge in the Tokyo War Crimes Trial (the movie version) I know that the winner writes the rules and history.

As a coward (in real life) I avoid any situation in which I might take the stray bullet (in the USA) or punch (in Japan) when things get out of control – and Yasukuni seems to be building to that kind of situation. It is certainly becoming a most highly charged place on August 15.

I observe that much of Japan’s foreign and domestic policy seems to be formulated in Washington and can appreciate that many Japanese might disapprove of external pressures. I think that the Class A War Criminals at Yasukuni, regardless of what they did and how bad they might have been, are and will remain dead and thus not likely to trouble anyone again except when August 15 rolls around next year.

Thanks for your interesting report!

Dan

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