Spirits of the State: Japan's Yasukuni Shrine 2006
Distributed by Films Media Group, PO Box 2053, Princeton, New Jersey 08543-2053; 800-257-5126
Produced by John Nelson, Ph.D.
Director n/a
DVD, color, 28 min.
College - Adult
Military Studies, Political Science, Religious Studies, World War II
Date Entered: 07/14/2006
Reviewed by Alexander Rolfe, Reference Librarian, George Fox University, Newberg, ORJapan's Yasukuni Shrine, established in 1869 to house the spirits of Japanese soldiers killed in war, generates considerable controversy. In 1979, several war criminals were inscribed in the book of spirits honored by the shrine.
Spirits of the State is very fair in its treatment of the Shrine's supporters, and gives a pretty thorough explanation of why it's important to them. The film maintains a tight focus on the shrine—there is footage of priests performing the daily rituals, interviews with visitors, interviews with guides from the museum next door, and shots of the prime minister's visit. This means that most of the time goes to those defending the shrine.
In spite of that, the producer's sympathies seem to lie with those troubled by the shrine. The film flatly states that the prime minister's visit violates Japan's constitution, which may make viewers wonder if the constitution refers to visiting shrines specifically or even Yasukuni in particular. (Japan's courts have ruled that the visits violate the constitution's separation of church and state.) Viewers learn that the shrine was a creation of the state, and that Yasukuni's blend of Shinto and death is an invented tradition. There is also footage of radical shrine supporters blaring nationalistic music from vehicles covered with slogans. The film also notes the bias of the museum and the nature of the history books sold at the shrine.
Spirits of the State assumes a basic knowledge of World War II and the history of Japan in the 20th century. This documentary makes only cursory references to this context, and even leaves a discrepancy unexplained: the narrator refers to 1,175,000 Japanese military deaths, and then a short time later a historian being interviewed puts the figure at 2.5 million.
The DVD case included an apologetic note saying the film may not measure up to Films Media Group's usual high technical standards. The technical quality seemed just fine, however; nothing technical marred the presentation of information. Happily, the film is short enough to be used in a classroom with discussion to follow.
Recommended for collections supporting Japanese politics or history, peace and war studies, or issues of religion and state.