after 1945? What causes religious conflicts? This seems to have nothing to do with political conflicts from all appearances. However, social research and understanding of the social structure is essential to build peaceful society in a true sense.
During the Pacific War (1941-1945), Japan faced the issues of religious dispute. This was an ongoing conflict during the war and a lot of Shintoists were imprisoned because of the protest against the policy of Hideki Tojo, the Prime Minister who started the Pacific War and who was the Major General of the Japanese Empire Army. He imprisoned and executed Shintoists who strongly opposed the invasive activities into China and WWII. Furthermore, he not only imprisoned Christian politicians, but also did not inform the Emperor Showa, Hirohito, of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
Japan is very unique from the viewpoint of one uninterrupted dynasty, which has lasted far more than one thousand years. However, there have been a lot of ideological changes in the imperial system throughout the Japanese history. For example, the Chinese Imperial System of the Qing Empire (1644-1912) was adopted when the Meiji Restoration (1867) took place, so Tenno (the Emperor) in Japanese was translated into the Emperor.
The original roles and the definition of Tenno have been different from those of Chinese Emperors. Throughout Japanese history, the roles of the Emperor in the country have not been absolute dictatorship of the nation like the emperors in China or those in Europe.
It would not be too much to say that the Emperors (Tennos) were never in the ruling position. However, the definition of Tennos’ position in Japanese society has been closer to the meaning of “a moderator” rather than that of a typical dictator. When it comes to dictatorship, you might come up with the regime ruled by “Hitler” in modern history or that by the Chinese Imperial System, during the Qing Empire. The Tenno’s role has been completely different from that.
Supreme Commander of the Pacific War (1941-1945), Douglas MacArthur was well aware of the importance of this traditional role of the Japanese Emperor or Tenno’s role. Therefore, in order to avoid the post-war political conflicts, which have so commonly occurred after every war such as Afghanistan or Iraq, MacArthur made the most of the Emperor, Showa and could manage to avoid internal conflicts right after the end of the Pacific War.
MacArthur knew what would happen if Japan were to be deprived of the Emperor after the Pacific War. MacArthur was also aware that the Imperial system had been transformed during the Meiji Restoration and that prevented the development of a democratic Japanese society. The educational system had been transformed so that children learned to accept and respect authority without question. This teaching method led to bloodshed behavior toward their enemies during the Pacific war. Japanese Imperial soldiers chose to die by suicide rather than surrender.
MacArthur was convinced that the Emperor Showa, Hirohito, was a key person to carry out the peaceful post-war process. MacArthur knew he had to restore the concept of Tenno as it was before the Meiji Restoration.
I would like to note here the main role of Tenno (the Emperor) has been the duty of carrying out religious ceremonies to serve the most important deities who created Japan. This role was being carried out during the period of isolationism under the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868). This role was being conducted by Tenno after the forced opening of a port for foreign trade by Commodore Matthew Perry.
As a matter of fact, opening Japan to trade with the West was a great opportunity for Japan, the nation, and her people. I should say, interacting with Western nations as well as Western cultures energized the Japanese Empire. However, many Japanese journalists today and those who are involved in the field of education regard this as the destruction of Japanese culture and identity. In my opinion, the Meiji bureaucratic system, which was based on neo-Confucianism, led to tragedy of Japan.
At the same time, the end of the period of isolationism was the start of the new age and also the end of the period of feudalism in Japan (about 1190-1868). The Japanese owe a lot to Commodore Perry. Without his visit to Japan, Japan would have become the colony of Western Super Powers. Douglas MacArthur, in his autobiography, called Perry’s visit “the beginning of the friendship between the United States of America and Japan.”
Douglas MacArthur knew that Hideki Tojo’s Regime (1941-1948) in Japan was the true enemy of the United States, not the nation of Japan itself. It is not too much to say that that was why Hideki Tojo was executed as the first-class war criminal but the traditional Japanese Tenno System (Usually translated as Imperial System of Japan) was protected by MacArthur. According to MacArthur, the United States and Japan have been creating an atmosphere for rapprochement between the two nations since Perry’s visit. He knew the Emperor Showa had never met Hitler or had even been a friend of Hitler.
As I mentioned before, after the Meiji Restoration, the role of the Emperor or Tenno in the Japanese term was completely redefined and became close to that of the emperors in the Chinese Imperial system, the Qing Empire (1616-1912). Furthermore, the founders of the Meiji Regime spoke highly of the Emperor Tenji, who was the 38th Tenno and the first Emperor of Japan (668-672). The founders of the new government tried making the most of the existence of the Emperor Tenji.
The first Japanese Emperor, Tenji, played the role model of the Emperor for the Meiji Regime. Another important element is that the basis of the Meiji Regime was the Chinese imperial system of the Qing Empire (1616-1912) based on neo-Confucianism. Based on the value system of neo-Confucianism, there was a complete transformation of the definition of the role of the emperor in the Imperial System in Japan. The Emperor Meiji became the head of the bureaucratic government, that is to say “the Emperor.”
Let me review the brief history of the Imperial System in Japan. In the Ancient times, Tenno existed as a moderator to bridge the conflicts among clans. The first Emperor, who introduced the enthronement ceremony of Chinese emperors, was the Emperor Tenji (668-671), who founded Ohmi Capital (667), which was located adjacent to Lake Biwa, across from Kyoto. Before him, almost all ancient capitals were located in the Nara Basin (present Nara Prefecture); several hundred miles from Ohmi Capital.
However, Ohmi Capital was discarded by Tenmu Tenno (672), who wanted to restore the traditional united-clan-tribal kingship system, and ended the imperial system that the Emperor Tenji wanted to establish. Most aristocratic clan leaders supported Tenmu Tenno, the Emperor Tenji’s brother, but the Emperor Kobun, the Emperor Tenji’s son, attempted to be the successor to the Emperor Tenji under the Tenji’s Imperial system. The Emperor Kobun, who was the son of the Emperor Tenji, was expelled from the throne and later killed himself.
Thereafter, Tenmu Tenno restored the ancient Tenno System, the united-clan-tribal kingship system with the help of his queen, Jitoh Tenno, in Nara, which I will explain in the later chapter. The document, which could be seen in Nihon-Sho-Ki (the first and the oldest government-sponsored compilation of Japanese history), said that Tenmu Tenno was Tenji’s younger brother, who had the legitimate right to succeed to Tenno’s throne. Furthermore, Tenmu’s queen, Jitoh, was the Emperor Tenji’s daughter, and a half-sister of the Emperor Kobun. Jitoh later became Jitoh Tenno, the successor of Tenmu Tenno. In Japanese, there is no distinction of gender or the singular or plural forms, so she became Tenno (The Empress).
Jitoh Tenno was an extremely talented Tenno with wisdom in making decisions and taking action, and started the project of compiling the oldest Japanese historical records in the form of books called “Nihon-Sho-Ki” (about 690-720): Nihon-Sho-Ki was the oldest historical record of Japan. Sho-Ki means books of compiled historical document, in order to make it clear that Tenmu and Jitoh Tenno had the legitimacy to succeed to Tenno’s throne because the Emperor Tenji completely destroyed and ignored the traditional united-clan-tribal kingship system. She tried to justify the restoration of the ancient Tenno System, which was rather the kingdom of united aristocratic clans than the empire based on the bureaucratic system.
After several female Tenno and male Tenno, about a hundred years later, the Emperor Kanmu tried to restore the Imperial System, which the Emperor Tenji had established in Ohmi, and so he moved the capital in current Nara Prefecture to Kyoto Prefecture very close to Ohmi, which thereafter came to