The international aesthetic of the Yasukuni Jinja and Yûshûkan Museum

I The Yasukuni Jinja (a shrine in the heart of Tokyo) is a controversial site in the Asia-­Pacific­ region.­Together­with­ the­Yûshûkan­ (its­ accompanying­museum),­ these­sites­are­illustrative­of­the­tension­between­technique­and­world.­The­controversy­ that­ they­present­ results,­ in­ large­ part,­ from­ the­ fact­ that­Yasukuni­ is­ where­the­spirits­of­Japanese­War­Dead­are­enshrined­in­order­to­honor­an­individual’s­sacrifice­to­the­nation.­“For­eternity­at­Yasukuni”­was­the­promise­that­ made­sacrifice­possible­and­even­desirable­in­War.­While­honoring­the­sacrifice­ of­ the­ fallen­ is­ practiced­ in­ other­ nations,­ Yasukuni­ remains­ controversial­ because­ it­enshrines­ those­who­fought­ in­ the­Greater­East­Asia­War.­It­was­an­ aggressive­ and­ brutal­ war­ that,­ like­ Germany­ on­ the­ European­ front,­ Japan­ started­and­lost.­It­is­doubly­controversial­because,­since­1978,­among­those­2.4­ million­enshrined­at­ this­ site­ are­ considered­14­“Class­A”­and­5,700­“Class­B­ and­C”­war­criminals.­Adding­“insult”­to­“injury,”­forced­conscripts­from­other­ countries­(Korea­and­China)­who­fought­for­Japan­are­likewise­enshrined­here. ­ As­ such,­ a­ visit­ to­Yasukuni­ requires­ an­ active­negotiation­of­ the­ atrocities­ committed­in­Japan’s­quest­for­a­Greater­Asia­and­the­moral­identity­it­seeks­to­ script­for­itself­in­the­post-­war­era.­The­tensions­between­forgetting­and­remembering­ Japan’s­ aggression­were­ fueled­ by­ the­ prospective­ visits­ of­ then­Prime­ Minister­Koizumi.­In­the­end,­Koizumi­fulfilled­his­election­promise­to­visit­on­ the­symbolic­day­of­August­15,­2006­(the­day­Japan­was­defeated­in­1945)­and­ sent­shock­waves­around­the­Pacific.­This­controversial­practice­ is­ likely­ to­be­ continued­into­the­future. ­ The­Yûshûkan­museum­amplifies­Yasukuni’s­controversy.­Erected­to­explain­ the­ significance­of­ the­ shrine,­ the­Yûshûkan­ is­ Japan’s­oldest­military­modern­ museum­(founded­in­1882).­Coupled­with­debates­over­Japan’s­history­textbooks­ and­recent­challenges­to­Article­9­of­Japan’s­peace­constitution,­the­museum­is­a­ touchstone­ of­ regional­ anxieties­ about­ re-­emerging­ ultra-­nationalist­ sentiments­ that­were­responsible­for­a­militarized­and­imperial­Japan­given­that­the­museum­ itself­played­a­significant­role­in­fostering­these­sentiments­prior­to­the­Greater­ East­Asia­War­(Rose­1998).­In­this­sense,­it­is­famous­for­its­historical­revisionism,­empirical­negligence,­and­offensive­indulgence­in­the­practice­of­forgetting­and­self-­pitying.­The­permanent­exhibit­at­the­Yûshûkan­suggests­that­Japanese­ leaders­had­no­choice­over­Japan’s­path.­They­were­forced,­it­is­argued,­to­peruse­ Japan’s­ historical­ trajectory­ towards­ ultra-­nationalism,­ allying­with­Hitler,­ and­ subjugating­ its­neighbors­ for­ their­own­“improvement”­ in­ the­name­of­Japan’s­ survival­and­honor.­In­the­end,­the­Yûshûkan­exhibits­that­Japan­and­its­soldiers­ fought­ honorably­ in­Manchuria,­Korea,­China,­ and­ across­ S.E.­Asia­ and­were­ maltreated­in­surrender.­Although­the­museum­website­claimed­to set the record straight so that Japanese youth will never forget the costs of war,­ many­ are­ offended­by­the­Yûshûkan’s­re-­narration­of­the­massacre­at­Nanjing,­the­creation­ of­comfort­women,­forced-­labor­and­internment­camps,­and­the­racilalized­proposition­that­Japan’s­Greater­East­Asian­War­was­intended­for­the­betterment­of­ all­of­Asia. ­ The­ prevalence­ of­ this­ controversy­ demonstrates­ the­ complexity­ of­ how­ history­ gets­ produced­ and­ the­ international­ implications­ of­ those­ productions.­ Accordingly,­ the­ Yasukuni/Yûshûkan­ constitutes­ a­ key­ moment­ in­ the­ Asia-­ Pacific­Event­which­is­articulated­as­the­unfolding­of­a­space­(Pacific­Rim)­and­ time­ (Pacific­ Century)­ that,­ in­ the­ end,­ announces­ its­ own­ political­ world­ or­ world­ politics­ (Whitehall­ 2007).­ Presented­ as­ an­ open­ wound­ in­ the­ political­ relations­of­ the­Asia-­Pacific,­ the­Yasukuni/Yûshûkan­ is­ an­engine­of­ this­ self-­ founding­ narrative.­ It­ is,­ as­Wendy­Brown­ explains,­ a­ “wounded­ attachment”­ which­in­every­attempt­to­engage­it­(the­wound)­further­opens,­aggravates,­and­ renews­ the­pain­ (Brown­1995:­Chapter­3).­ If­not­ for­ the­ renewed­controversy,­ the­ resentment­ surrounding­ Yasukuni/Yûshûkan­ would­ likely­ recede­ into­ that­ contentious­ temporal­ reserve­ central­ to­ other­ war­ memorials,­ national­ monuments,­and­museums.­Instead,­Yasukuni/Yûshûkan­constitutes­an­aporia in the Asia-­Pacific­Event.­ It­mobilizes­ a­ specific­ set­ of­ aesthetic­ practices­ to­ explain­ international­ relations,­ yet,­ it­ does­ so­ in­ such­ a­way­ as­ to­ reproduce­ the­ very­ thing­it­seeks­to­describe:­the­Asia-­Pacific.­To­explain­this­tension,­we­must­first­ turn­to­discussions­about­the­politics­of­museums,­memorial,s­and­monuments

Art · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Chinese history and philosophy · Japanese History and Culture

• Sensible Politics

  William A Callahan•Sensible Politics•2020

  Add to list

• Racist Monuments

  Open Access•Ten‐herng Lai•The Journal of Ethics•2025

  Add to list

• Trauma and the Memory of Politics

  Open Access•Jenny Edkins•Trauma and the Memory of Politics•2003

  Add to list