Yasukuni shrine

Subject – Art and Culture

Context – Yasukuni shrine is a controversial symbol of Japan’s war legacy.

Concept –

Nearly eight decades after Japan’s defeat in World War Two, Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine remains a potent symbol of its wartime legacy in East Asia and a flashpoint for regional tension.
Established in 1869 in a leafy urban enclave, the shrine is dedicated to 2.5 million Japanese who died in wars beginning in the 19th century and including World War Two.
Funded by the government until 1945, Yasukuni – its name formed by combining the words for “peace” and “country” – was central to the state religion of Shintoism that mobilised the wartime population to fight in the name of a divine emperor.