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Our bus tour, continued. . . This shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Tokyo that commemorates Japan's war dead. There is a large torii (entrance gate) in front of the shrine. It was build in order to commemorate and worship those who have died in war for their country and sacrificed their lives to help build the foundation for a peaceful Japan (the meaning of Yasukuni is "peaceful country"). The deities of about 2.5 million people who died for Japan in the conflicts accompanying the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma Rebellion and similar domestic conflicts, the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, the Manchurian Incident, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War are enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine in form of mortuary tablets with inscribed names. A big political contravercy surrounds the Yasukuni Shrine because since 1978, fourteen class A war criminals are among the 2.5 million people enshrined at Yasukuni. Furthermore, the visits by several Japanese prime ministers to the shrine since 1975 have been causing concerns regarding a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. Additional history concerning the above shrine. |
 
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