Yasukuni Shrine and Museum
After attending the Kabuki performance, I wanted to visit Yasukuni Shrine. It wasn't a long walk from the National Theater, but it was a hot day. The shrine and grounds were not crowded when I visited, probably because of the heat that day.
Yasukuni Shrine commemorates Japan's war dead. It was founded in 1869 with the purpose of enshrining those who died in war. Since 1978 fourteen class A war criminals are among the 2.5 million enshrined at Yasukuni. Official visits by several prime ministers and cabinet members makes the shrine a political controversy.
There is also a huge museum and cafe on the grounds. The museum entry fee is 1000 yen, and quite a bit of the information is in English, but photos are not allowed inside.
The best thing on a hot day - - -
5 comments:
The grounds look beautiful.
I have never seen Yasukuni Shrine so deserted.
Wonderful shrine. Tell me again the name of the ice -- is it kakigori? Or is that something else? Rick's friend used to have a machine for that and they were so good!
A beautiful shrine and surroundings, must put it on my list to visit.
Looks like a great but solemn place to visit. Not sure I understand the middle part - is it a controversy because the ministers visited the shrine despite some war criminals being included? Or the war criminals being enshrined in the first place? What exactly does 'enshrined' mean in this context - surely there are not 2.5 million people buried there in some capacity?!
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