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八月二十三日（木）快晴。昨日のSouth China Morning Post投書欄での小泉君靖国参拝について拙文を投稿す。
I refer to the letter by M**** headlined "Shrine visit not a show of support for right-wing group" (South China Morning Post, August 22).
I understand Mr. M's opinion and Prime Minister Mr. Koizumi's Yasukuni Shrine visit doesn't mean simply that Japanese Militarism in a facsimile mood. Also Mr. Koizumi's post-Yasukuni visit speech should be considered properly by overseas media.
But I'd like to mention Yasukuni Shrine's peculiarity from other thousands of traditional shintoism shrines all over Japan. Mr. M wrote "(Yasukuni shrine) is the symbolic resting place of 2 1/2 million Japanese men and women", but I emphasis those "eirei" the spirit of the war dead include soldiers who profess Christianity or other particular religion, Korean and Taiwanese civilian victims who forced to work for Japan under the World War II and others who didn't wish personally to be rested in Yasukuni Shrine. I don't think all of 2.5 million spirits has been resting so naturally and peacefully in the shrine because the nation put them as "eirei" compulsory onto the shrine under the nationalism.
Yasukuni Shrine was particular shrine managed by Three Ministries of Army, Navy and Interior Affairs until World War II and after the war, in spite of Yasukuni Shrine was separated form the government, the supporting groups of the shrine, such as Nippon Izoku Kai (the bereaved family's association) which also strongly support the Liberal Democratic Party, have been promoting to legislate the Yasukuni Shrine Law regarding the maintenance of the shrine by the government. Yasukuni shrine is clearly related to Japanese militarism and nationalism.
In the constitution of Japan, the article 20 mentioned (i) freedom of religion is guaranteed to all and no religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority, (ii) no person shall be compelled to take part in any religious acts, celebration, rite or practice and (iii) the State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity.
In spite of Mr. Koizumi's shrine visit is his solely to pay respect and it does not emphasize the militarism of Japan and he wishes our apology and the peaceful relationship with neighborhood countries, the visit to Yasukuni Shrine should be considered nervously and seriously because of the shrineﾕs peculiarity.
南華會のレトロな室内プールにて水泳。夕方、Braemer HillのＡ氏宅にて会食、山形の出羽桜純米吟醸持参、Ｔ夫妻の相伴に預かる。Ａ夫人の手料理は超主婦にて煮物から炊込み御飯、漬物まで薄味でよくもここまで味が出るものと敬服、冥利。焼物は最近日本にて豚トロなる下品な名前にて評判の猪頏。出羽桜の一升はあっという間に空になり白鷹も一升飲み干す。