Читать книгу Trust and Deception - Hannah K - Страница 11

Douglas MacArthur’s main intention was to separate Shinto from education, which had led to the tragic Pacific War. A lot of journalists complain in documentary films or talk shows that Douglas MacArthur was the sole occupational dictator and he forced Shinto to be defined as a religion and separated from education. However, in my opinion, the Japanese journalists violate the ethical rules of reporting by replacing fact with convenient stories fabricated by them. Some Japanese journalists and political commentators have been twisting the facts of the GHQ policies for the purpose of increasing popularity of their selfish opinions influenced by Stalinism. The lamentable fact is that this preposterous psudoideology has been ruling Japan from the post-war era in educational field, publishing industries, and major media.

This symbolic role has been the purpose of Tenno from its inception. Tenno has prayed for the peace of this world by performing Shinto “rituals” to two groups of Japanese deities who belong to Firmament and Underworld respectively every morning. Supreme Commander, Douglas MacArthur knew this fact. That was why one of his intentions was to redefine the role of Tenno, the Emperor not as “supreme existence of Japan,” but as “the symbol of Japan.”

The original role of Tenno of Japan was not like that of Chinese Emperors during the Qing Empire (1618-1912) who were the absolute rulers of China. Then, what was the original role of Tenno? It is actually strange to call Tenno in Japanese the Emperor since his role was unlike the classic Chinese emperors. However, as the common translation for Tenno has been the Emperor, I would like to use Tenno as traditional role in Japan and the Emperor as a ruler.

Looking back at the long history of Japan, the role of Tenno and the position of Tenno has changed over the period of time. There were interesting stories of the drastic change of ideological background of Shinto under the influence of various religions introduced from the Korean Peninsula, which will be discussed in the later chapters. However, in many ways, Shinto and Tenno have been strongly linked together and it is impossible to understand what Shinto is without understanding the history of Tenno, which is written in two oldest existing literatures “Nihon-Sho-Ki” and “Koji-Ki” in Japan.

A lot of Japanese people are not aware of the importance of understanding the relationship of Tenno and Shinto these days because of the influence of the Japanese media, but it is important to note that the national identity of Japan and Shinto are always linked together. I cannot help thinking the Japanese people were fortunate that the Supreme Commander, Douglas MacArthur, and the members of GHQ and those who contributed to the project of reforming Japanese education had a much better understanding of the national identity of Japan when they tried to free the Japanese people from the slave like condition they lived under during the Pacific War. The lamentable fact is that almost all the Japanese people are not taught this fact.

And, now, starting with the University of Tokyo, there have been many “false, so-called researches” that most researchers have been spreading all over the world regarding the ideological background of Shinto. Kokugakuin University and Kogakkan University, which are the two main universities to educate those who want to be qualified Shinto Priests, contribute to sending out the same kind of researchers. These “false researches” were originated by Dr. Shinobu Origuchi (1887-1953), the former professor of Keio University. He received his doctorate degree at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo.