Open AccessYasukuni Shrine, Japanese Christian Responses, and a Kuyperian Ecclesiological Perspective
Author(s) -
Surya Harefa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
unio cum christo
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2473-8476
pISSN - 2380-5412
DOI - 10.35285/ucc7.1.2021.art6
Subject(s) - ecclesiology , worship , emperor , state (computer science) , politics , perspective (graphical) , religious studies , government (linguistics) , theology , history , political science , sociology , law , philosophy , ancient history , art , computer science , linguistics , algorithm , visual arts
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