Blossoms in the Wind: Human Legacies of the Kamikaze by M. G. Sheftall Page B
Authors: M. G. Sheftall
Ads: Link
campaigns are for the reinstatement of national sponsorship and official recognition of Yasukuni Shrine (both privileges have remained abolished since the end of World War II, despite the return of Japanese sovereignty), and for the propagation of what is euphemistically known as “correct” Japanese history education in the nation’s schools, particularly where curricula involve handling the interlinked subjects of the rise of Shōwa Era militarism and what is generally referred to in right-leaning Japanese historical interpretations as The Great East Asian War of 1937-1945 [56] .
The fundamental points of what could be called the “Yasukuni/ Kaikōsha Stance” (and the basic position of most other right-wing historical interpretation arguments) are:
● the Great East Asian War was the result of Japan being threatened by other powers, and the nation’s actions constituted a legitimate defense of strategic interests;
● the war was fought t o free Asia of Western colonialism/hegemony;
● the Nanking Massacre, POW slavery and vivisections, “comfort women” forced prostitution policies and other purported Japanese wartime transgressions either never happened or have been grossly exaggerated by “ Japan bashers” – both domestic and foreign – eager to vilify the nation’s conduct in the war for political purposes or possibly even financial gain (through reparations, etc.); [57]
● the current state of history education in Japanese schools is an unhealthy legacy of Allied Occupation policies designed to keep Japan eternally humbled and weak;
● the Tokyo International Tribunal to try Japan’s “war criminals” was a sham trial of “victor’s justice,” and the men and women executed as a result of its verdicts ga ve their lives for Japan and thus deserve to be honored just as military personnel who died in combat;
● Yasukuni Shrine is the only facility in Japan that can legitimately claim to serve as a memorial facility to honor the nation’s war dead in toto . [58]
“In correct” history, conversely, means any academic or educational interpretation that portrays the conduct and motives of the Imperial armed forces during the war in anything less than a heroic and morally justified light, or that denies the status of Yasukuni Shrine as the nation’s premier war memorial facility.
Controversy has always surrounded this stance, and while the Kaikōsha’s views have never dominated public opinion in postwar or modern Japanese society, its voice has shown ironclad consistency over the years and has long had the ear of some of the nation’s most powerful politicians. Given the emeritus status of so many of its nearly 14,000 members in business, political and social spheres, the Kaikōsha’s influence is greater even than its considerable size might imply. However, these numbers are dropping off sharply as infirmity and death from natural causes now begin to ravage the ranks of the last IMA classes [59] . The youngest full members are pushing eighty as of 2004, and there are no plans to “open the books” for a new generation of members. Barring any change in membership requirement policy that will bring new blood into the organization, the Kaikōsha is not much longer of this earth, and is destined to fade away like MacArthur’s metaphorical old soldier when there are not enough members left to carry its torch.
Perhaps in light of the demographic realities facing the organization, it is fitting that the premises occupied by its Tokyo branch are considerably more modest than the grand stone palazzo – no longer extant – it called home until 1945. Tokyo’s Kaikōsha is at present located on a bar and restaurant-lined side street in Kojimachi, Chiyoda Ward, housed in a six-story building owned by a dentist who lives in a penthouse on the top two floors and drills teeth on the first. On the three floors in between, the Kaikōsha has a canteen/club room, conference rooms and
The fundamental points of what could be called the “Yasukuni/ Kaikōsha Stance” (and the basic position of most other right-wing historical interpretation arguments) are:
● the Great East Asian War was the result of Japan being threatened by other powers, and the nation’s actions constituted a legitimate defense of strategic interests;
● the war was fought t o free Asia of Western colonialism/hegemony;
● the Nanking Massacre, POW slavery and vivisections, “comfort women” forced prostitution policies and other purported Japanese wartime transgressions either never happened or have been grossly exaggerated by “ Japan bashers” – both domestic and foreign – eager to vilify the nation’s conduct in the war for political purposes or possibly even financial gain (through reparations, etc.); [57]
● the current state of history education in Japanese schools is an unhealthy legacy of Allied Occupation policies designed to keep Japan eternally humbled and weak;
● the Tokyo International Tribunal to try Japan’s “war criminals” was a sham trial of “victor’s justice,” and the men and women executed as a result of its verdicts ga ve their lives for Japan and thus deserve to be honored just as military personnel who died in combat;
● Yasukuni Shrine is the only facility in Japan that can legitimately claim to serve as a memorial facility to honor the nation’s war dead in toto . [58]
“In correct” history, conversely, means any academic or educational interpretation that portrays the conduct and motives of the Imperial armed forces during the war in anything less than a heroic and morally justified light, or that denies the status of Yasukuni Shrine as the nation’s premier war memorial facility.
Controversy has always surrounded this stance, and while the Kaikōsha’s views have never dominated public opinion in postwar or modern Japanese society, its voice has shown ironclad consistency over the years and has long had the ear of some of the nation’s most powerful politicians. Given the emeritus status of so many of its nearly 14,000 members in business, political and social spheres, the Kaikōsha’s influence is greater even than its considerable size might imply. However, these numbers are dropping off sharply as infirmity and death from natural causes now begin to ravage the ranks of the last IMA classes [59] . The youngest full members are pushing eighty as of 2004, and there are no plans to “open the books” for a new generation of members. Barring any change in membership requirement policy that will bring new blood into the organization, the Kaikōsha is not much longer of this earth, and is destined to fade away like MacArthur’s metaphorical old soldier when there are not enough members left to carry its torch.
Perhaps in light of the demographic realities facing the organization, it is fitting that the premises occupied by its Tokyo branch are considerably more modest than the grand stone palazzo – no longer extant – it called home until 1945. Tokyo’s Kaikōsha is at present located on a bar and restaurant-lined side street in Kojimachi, Chiyoda Ward, housed in a six-story building owned by a dentist who lives in a penthouse on the top two floors and drills teeth on the first. On the three floors in between, the Kaikōsha has a canteen/club room, conference rooms and
Similar Books
