Yasukuni Shrine, Japanese Christian Responses, and a Kuyperian Ecclesiological Perspective

Abstract

This article explores the issue of official worship at Yasukuni Shrine and how Japanese evangelical Christians have responded to this problem. Established in 1869 as a mixed Shinto, military, and imperial site, it enshrined the souls of those who died for the emperor. The government used it to mobilize Japanese people for its fascist agenda during the first half of the twentieth century. After the disestablishment of the shrine as a state facility in 1946, many right-wing conservative politicians and war-bereaved families have worked ceaselessly to revive its special status. After surveying Japanese Christians’ responses, the ecclesiological background of their arguments is analyzed and the implementation of Abraham Kuyper’s ecclesiology to enhance their political engagement is proposed. KEYWORDS: Yasukuni Shrine, Japanese Christians, Abraham Kuyper, church and state, ecclesiology