Yasukuni Shrine: Ritual and Memory

[klod]

Interesting background on the shrine.

"Yasukuni is first and foremost a site for the performance of ritual before the kami (gods), those men, women and some children who sacrificed their lives for the imperial cause. This article examines the organizing of space and ritual at Tokyo's shrine to the war dead and the implications for memory."

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=11&ItemID=7970

[Charles]

The closing day of Yasukuni Matsuri, May 22, 2004. I was temporarily detained by the Imperial Household Guard for taking these pics.

[Buraku]

Junichi Fukumoto of the New Komeito party, the ruling coalition partner of Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party, criticized the premier's repeated visits, saying, "It's just like offering prayers at a grave of Hitler."



Koizumi responds and says visiting Yasukuni not like offering prayers at Hitler's grave

Japantoday / Kyodo News have the story

[jingai]

Who are the pictures of, Charles? Is there a camera ban in effect for those proceedings? You can generally shoot I think (or at least I did...)

[Charles]

Who are the pictures of, Charles? Is there a camera ban in effect for those proceedings? You can generally shoot I think (or at least I did...)

An old lady told me that they are retired firemen. I don't know about that, this is the ceremony where an Imperial Representative comes to the shrine to console the families of recent casualties in the armed forces, so I figure the guys are retired military.

Yes, you can shoot pics at Yasukuni. I was briefly detained by a gruff policeman with a gold chrysanthemum insignia on his hat, so I assume it was the Imperial Household Guard. My offense was being a gaijin in the wrong place. I was grabbed from behind by the Guard, and with a profusion of gestures, it was made clear that if I didn't go stand where he indicated, I would be in deep shit. Apparently it is forbidden to stand in the path of a member of the Imperial Household. Prince Mikasa came up the path shortly after the procession of the guys wearing happi. The Guard stood directly in front of me the entire time Prince Mikasa was present. He had to be part of the Prince's personal security forces. Here's a badly exposed shot with the Guard on the left and Mikasa-sama on the right.

[Buraku]

I was briefly detained by a gruff policeman with a gold chrysanthemum insignia on his hat

this is how you normally respond to Yasukuni cops









Yasukuni police have no authority over gaijins

If they try to act big
just smack them around a bit
they are nazi cowards

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made an unusual angry outburst on after seeing a police officer flee from a bat-wielding man in a news program.
"I watched a scene in which a police officer fled from a criminal. It's disgraceful for an officer to act like that," Koizumi reportedly said during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.
The prime minister said that the fleeing officer should be warned over his cowardly behavior.