The worship of ancestors by the people of Japan.

THE NOBLE SOULS OF YASUKUNI--ETERNALLY
by Kenji Ueda, President of Kokugakuin University

Does Man Have a Soul?
I believe the most important matter that must be understood in order to grasp a correct understanding of the religious rituals held at Yasukuni Jinja is the view of man that is conveyed by Shinto. Monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam regard The Book of Genesis to be a fundamental scripture of their religions. There, the ancestor of mankind, Adam, was formed from clay by Yahweh in the same form as Yahweh Himself and was given life through His breath. Eve was later made from the rib of Adam. Together they ate of the forbidden fruit and were sent away from God's kingdom. Their descendants, having wisdom contrary to God's wisdom, contrived to reach the heaven where God resides and built a grand tower. God, however, was angered by this haughtiness of man and destroyed this tower thereby setting apart the languages of the mankind. In other words, in monotheistic religions man is created by God, yet despite his finite and mortal existence, man continuously forgets himself and lives in a willful manner. Because of this only those who abide the laws conveyed by God may go to heaven and receive eternal life in the flesh. Can we say then, that monotheistic religions recognize the existence of man's soul generally? There are,as a matter of course ,some differences can be observed in between Catholicism and Protestantism,even in Christianity . Let us turn our attention to Buddhism. Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, taught that this world is inconstant, governed by the law of karma. Man who is not able to awaken to this fact earnestly pursues his desires to no avail. Man's life is filled with suffering. Buddhism teaches that the only path for man to overcome his desire is thorough religious training that will blend him into the universal law. There is no other path. The difficulty of pursueing this teaching, however, lead to the development of Mahayana Buddhism. In this school of Buddhism it was enough that man live with faith in the Buddha. But even Mahayana Buddhism could not renounce the teachings that the true essence of all phenomena is a lack of substance as phenomena are governed by conditions--the lack of eternal existence. Mahayana Buddhism does not recognize the existence of an individual soul. The veneration of departed souls in Mahayana Buddhism began in China and Japan as it reconciled with Confucianism and Shintoism. And here it became a religion that offered comfort to those who are still alived. Now let us examine the faith of Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan. According to the faith conveyed to us by the mythical accounts of the _Nihon Shoki_ and the _Kojiki_, the Kami, Izanagi and Izanami, in giring birth to the country of Japan, also gave birth to the people. This is to say that the Japanese islands and people are both born from the Kami. Therefore, the soul of man is identical with the Kami. And so long as this universe continues to exist, the soul of man can be nothing else than eternal. The Catholic religion teaches of hell and the purgatory. Only those who believe in God and uphold His commandments will be blessed by eternal life and happiness in the kingdom of God. Since this teaching severed all ties with the present world, Catholicism had no need to venerate the soul of the deceased as well as ancestors. Mahayana Buddhism teaches that the evil suffer eternally in hell. Those who believe in the Buddha's teachings and accumulate good deeds may sit upon a lotus-flower-shaped pedestal in the Pure Land and be delighted by exquisite music and a shower of sweet nectar. The _Urabon Sutra_, an apocryphal sutra composed in China (a sutra that is nonexistent among the Indian Buddhist sutras) expounds that only by the deed of offering of food could the soul of the deceased be welcomed to Paradise. It is a fact, however, that Shakyamuni did not teach about the existence of the soul. Therefore, the Buddhism practiced in Japan is a Sinicized and Japanized Buddhism. It is a compassionate teaching to bring growth to souls of the livings. Shinto of Japan does not view the world in the manner of natural science--a collection of atoms and molecules. In Shinto there is not a single existence which serves no purpose. Shinto considers the work of all things in a spiritual manner. It categories all things by using the words _tama_, _mono_ and _mi_. _Mi_ may also be written as the character for body or fruit. It is believed that _mi_ comes to an end after fulfilling its purpose. _Mono_ refers to objects or bodies other than man such as animals. These spirits often bring harm to man or disrupt his activities. Although it is believed that _mono_ may at times lend to him a helping hand. _Mono-no-ke_ (a un-natural being) expresses this spiritual aspect of _mono_. This form of belief is reflected in tales of the supernatural beings that have been conveyed to us from olden times. The purification ceremonies held today even for computer equipment, factories and ships is done so with the prayer that the spirits of _mi_ may work properly and that there be no interference from _mono_. These ceremonies are even performed to console the spirits of animals used in medical experiments--something unimaginable in the West.

Is Life the Possession of the Individual?
Of all things in existence that which has been imparted with the most superior soul is the life of man. Speaking about this life, can we say that the life of a man is his own personal possession? These days young people say to their parents such outrageous things as "I did not ask you to give birth to me." It is a fact that we did not of our own volition come to be born into this world. Life had been imparted to us from the very outset. Therefore each one of us must from the very outset struggle to find our path in life, and there is no one who can ask another to do so on his behalf. A child receiving the love of his parents grows to become an adult by following the example of his parent's lifestyle. In this way the child grows to become an adult with an independent personality. A human being then has received generation after generation of life--his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and those before them. Can we say that this human being has received life through his own efforts? Here we have the vertical connection of life. For a man to live he must also have the benefits of the products created by the many other members of society. The character for "man" developed in China being composed of two strokes cannot exist as one stroke without the other. We are properly taught by the character for "man" that only though the help of others can we live as human beings. Therefore we cannot but be grateful to our parents, grandparents and those before them, and worship their souls even after their parting as well as work for the good of society. For this reason we can say that life is the possession of the individual and at the same time not his possession. From ancient times society--the body governing human relationships--has been referred to as a community of life. And to the community a common language was born to enable mutual understanding, races were born through intermarriage, and nations were also born. It would by no means be a mistake to say that to work for the sake of one's country is a natural responsibility and duty. Unfortunately, in the case of our nation, after the defeat in the war we have denied the foremost duty of a human being. It is as if we are people without a country.