야스쿠니신사(靖国神社)와 천황제 이데올로기 - 야스쿠니의 천황중심 사상과 반사회세력과의 연관성을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This article looks into the connections between the Yasukuni shrine and Japanese Emperor system ideology, focusing mainly on the relationship between the Japanese Emperor and Japanese people. The Yasukuni shrine is a peculiar religious facility that connects the Japanese Emperor with the shrine and the military and is not a simple memorial where people come to honor and pray for the repose of the dead. Instead it was built to praise those who fought and died for the Japanese Emperor. In the sense that memorial services at the shrine are held for all the Japanese who sacrificed their lives for the Japanese Emperor, regardless of their status, occupation and gender, the Yasukuni shrine is a democratic religious facility where all are equal in the eyes of the Japanese. If we viewed the surroundings of the Yasukuni shrine on the just passed August 15th, the anniversary of the end of World War II, we would see some people at the Yasukuni shrine expressing their complaints about the present administration and society with megaphones while others distributed flyers. This demonstrates that the energy which supports Yasukuni is not provided only by the families of the deceased honored there but also by those wishing to voice their dissatisfaction with Japanese current affairs. Such a rebellious and anti-government atmosphere at Yasukuni on the anniversary of the end of World War II can be said to have its foundation in the special relationship between the Japanese Emperor and the public. The Yasukuni shrine was constructed in modern Japan and is supported by the logic of the peculiar power structure of Japan that unites those with rebellious ideologies and those who have dropped out of society or are on its peripheries with the Japanese Emperor and his leadership. The origins of the shrine lay in the memorial service for the civil war dead which was carried out by patriots who respected the Emperor, aimed to repel foreign intruders and developed the movement to overthrow the bakufu, thus helping the Japanese Emperor take the throne. It is such a history that invests the Yasukuni shrine with the symbolic meanings and power to connect the Japanese Emperor’s ideological religious authority with the people.