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Here's the entrance to the shrine. You may have heard about Yasukuni Shrine in the news because of Prime Minister Koizumi's controversial visits here and China and South Korea's opposition to them. The reason for that is this shrine is dedicated to honoring Japanese war dead, including some high-level war criminals. Now generally I think China and South Korea are overly sensitive to Japanese militarism (in China's case it's like Yao Ming calling Yuta Tabuse tall), but I agree with them here. The Prime Minister shouldn't visit this shrine, nor should war criminals be honored here. Still, I had to see it for myself. Don't worry though, I didn't give them any money. |
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The cherry blossoms were beautiful here too. |
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The shrine itself. |
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Fortunes tied to the sakura trees. |
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Part of the military museum attached to the shrine. |
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A lovely little courtyard just made for relaxing and remembering your nation's glorious warrior past. |
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An interesting statue |
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Don't know what the red dots mean, but I assume it's either locations this ship saw action, or places where Japanese ships were sunk during WWII. |
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There was this tiny statue dedicated to peace. |
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Me and a Zero. Wouldn't my grandpa (who worked on an aircraft carrier in WWII) be proud? |