When I was studying abroad in Japan, I visited a shrine in Tokyo that I have continually thought about on this program as a point of comparison between how Japan has dealt with the legacy of World War II versus how Germany has dealt with the same issue. This shrine, called Yasukuni Jinja, essentially serves as a site whose purpose is to commemorate and ultimately deify all Japanese people who have fought and died for their country. This includes about 2.5 million souls, 1,068 of whom are convicted of war crimes and 14 of which are convicted class A war criminals, guilty of “crimes against peace”. There is a museum attached to the shrine, which gives a hugely revisionist history of Japanese military action. Only certain parts of the museum are translated into English, and there is no mention of Japanese war crimes such as the Rape of Nanking, so-called “comfort women” (women, especially Korean, who were kidnapped and kept as sex slaves for soldiers) and biological weapons testing on Chinese civilians (among other atrocities). In addition, Japanese Diet members and former Prime Ministers have been known to visit the shrine to pay their respects and, when criticized for honoring Japanese war criminals and contributing to a revisionist history of Japan, began sending money and flowers in secret instead. Top Japanese officials continue to deny Japanese war crimes.
Just walking around Germany, however, my experience of its treatment of its history has been vastly different. Set into the cobblestones are the names of people abducted and murdered during the Holocaust. There are statues and monuments in each German city I have visited that are dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust. Each tour we’ve received as a group gave details on the Holocaust, and it seems to me (from much of the German artists and artworks I’ve seen) that Germans are still struggling with the weight of their history. Yasakuni Jinja remains my only reference point for Japan’s attitude towards the second world war not out of a lack of engagement of the culture, but because it was truly my only encounter with a Japanese take on war crimes. I was not taught about these crimes in classes or at any museum I visited—all my knowledge was acquired through personal research.
I had a conversation with my friend Julia (who is very knowledgeable on a whole host of things including German history) I learned that Germany’s direct address of the Holocaust only took place beginning with the generation after that which served in the war. I wondered, then, why would the same accountability not be taken on by postwar generations of Japanese citizens?
Although I don’t have an answer to this question, I think that it’s fruitful to look to some of the differences between Japanese and German cultures as well as the differences and similarities between the crimes committed. First, however, I would like to say, as a disclaimer, that the point of this blog post is not to say that all Germans feel apologetic for the crimes of the Holocaust, or that all Japanese citizens are unaware of crimes committed during WWII. There are small but growing extremist and xenophobic factions that look to Germany’s history as inspiration and commit crimes against nonwhite populations, and there are many Japanese activists and historians who are demanding that the Japanese government own up to its history. I simply wanted to explore the different ways in which each nation with a history of war crimes during WWII addressed them in my experience. I realize that this requires generalizations on my part, and I don’t intend for my views to be taken as a fact.
Japanese war crimes were often motivated by the desire to prove Japanese superiority, especially over other Asian countries. This manifested in genocides of certain ethnic groups, including Hui Muslims in China. Similarly, the German-initiated Holocaust in Europe was partially intended to demonstrate the superiority of the “Aryan race” over others. However, the difference lies in some cultural values that I think are integral to the different modes of address of war crimes in each of these countries. Germany is a western nation, and has a society constructed in a largely western way, with a collective identity that allows (to a certain extent) for both difference and the questioning of German values and society. Japan, however, from the dawn of modern Japanese value systems, has aligned itself more with Eastern senses of collectivity and social organization, based largely on Confucian values imported from China (which put importance on loyalty to one’s family and nation as well as constructs a social structure that allows for less transgression). In addition, Japanese society is very invested in defining “Japaneseness” and preserving it as different (and ultimately, better) than any other national identity. This manifests in many ways (such as denying that large parts of early Japanese culture are lifted from China, or having philosophers whose focus is defining the characteristics that make Japan so exceptional) but most notably in an unspoken norm that questioning Japanese actions or history is seen as un-Japanese. It may be that social values that have been governing Japanese society for hundreds of years play a part in how it addresses its own history differently than Germany does.
As a visitor who has spent much time in both of these places, I have experienced the very different ways in which they address their histories. I realize the nature of my observations are of course subjective, but I wanted to provide a brief explanation of my thought processes.
It is totally unsurprising to see an comparison of Japan and Germany on their attitude for their history in WW2. I am glad you left an open end to this unsettling comparison. As a Chinese from Nanking (unsurprisingly, one of the strongest Japan-hatred areas in China), Japanese attitude to WW2 has always been a topic I feel emotionally evolved, but uneasy to talk about.
Just to offer some potential approaches to think about the gesture of Japanese in post-war, with more background on the intellectual history of modern Japan (a class I took during my stay in Japan).
The first thing is about the superiority of “Japaneseness”. Besides the unique “Japaneseness” mentioned in your post from the perspective of Shinto, the indigenous religion, and the emperor, there is another interesting way to justify their invasion to other Asian countries, as the true heritage of the “Asian spirit” (Buddhism from India and Confucianism from China). It is also kind of similar for the idea in Germany during the war as the authentic heir of Greek ideas (mentioned in the Prinz Gholam’s work in Documenta). Or to glorify Japanese as the only country that successfully modernized and westernized itself, as thus deserves the leading position in Asia. Rather an a “pure Japanese” nation, modern Japan (after Meiji Restoration) is a intellectually diverse nation with many scholars debating on “Japaneseness”. Japan has always struggled to identify itself. But it is completely true that this obsession with itself, and the mostly introspective approaches might be a underlying reason for the raise of extreme nationalism during the war.
Then is about Shinto believes and the infamous Yasukuni Shrine. Modern Shinto is an invented religion to serve the nationalistic propaganda, systemized as a religion in early Meiji era. However, it is also based on many indigenous believes. One particular thing about “commemorate and ultimately deify” people died for their country during the war is that Shinto gods (“kami” in Japanese) is not necessarily good. Evil kamis need to be kept in shrines to repress and purify them, or they will do harm to the society. However, the case of Yasukuni shrine has so much to do with political/nationalistic gestures from its foundation to present day, that religious discussion has almost no place.
The last thing I find that might associate with Japanese’s attitude towards wars is about the post-war US occupation in Japan. I am not familiar with this part of the history as all, but the complicated relationship between US and Japan in post-war era is another way to think about present day Japanese gesture about world war.
Viola,
I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge! I had you in mind when I wrote this post and am so glad you commented. I think many of the details you’ve provided, particularly in reference to the nature of Kami in Shinto shrines and Shintoism as a whole are really helpful and complicate my previous understanding of Yasakuni Shrine. In addition, I appreciate your perspective as someone from Nanking who lived in Japan and is steeped in Japanese culture. The intellectual history of Japan is something I know little about, and am eager to learn more–especially about how very-westernized Japan fits into east Asia as a whole .