Our last two temples

Tokyo, Japan. There are so many compelling and beautiful temples and shrines in Tokyo that narrowing down the most compelling to visit before leaving here in a couple of days was difficult. But two stood out for different reasons and that’s how we spent the day.

The first destination was the Yasukini shrine. This shrine is devoted to the spirits of people who died in service of the Imperial crown of Japan. Founded in 1869, it is considered to hold the spirits of over 2 million people. It’s a large complex that attracts large numbers of visitors.

Adjacent to the shrine is the Yushukan military history museum. This museum was first opened in 1882 to house artifacts associated with Japanese war efforts and to chronicle Japanese progress during the years of their successful empire expansion. This was the place that displayed captured enemy spoils during World War II.

At the end of WWII, this museum was closed by occupying forces. The building was emptied of its contents and was rented to an insurance company. The insurance company left in 1980 and a few years later the museum was reopened. The museum has since attracted some controversy over what is considered to be its revisionist history of Japan’s war involvement.

We didn’t get to assess how revisionist this might have been because most of the museum was closed for renovation. But what we did see presented a pretty strong celebration of the achievements of the Japanese armed forces.

The first item on display in the museum is a Zero aircraft. This is the small nimble plane that almost won Japan the Pacific War in the early 1940s. It was a brilliant piece of design that took several years for American forces to counteract. Obviously, this plane is on display as a point of pride. In the gift shop, they sell different types of images of the plane, such as refrigerator magnets. The gift shop also sells the wartime version of the Japanese flag as well as items glorifying Japan’s past war efforts, including, for example, calendars with photos of war weaponry of the past and period reproductions of military toys.

There was a special exhibit of how Japanese servicemen men were fed during the war. The restaurant in the museum was featuring meals made entirely with the types of food found in WWII rations. We didn’t try these, but many tourists filled the restaurant. One would think from the exhibit that Japanese servicemen were extremely happy with their balanced and nutritious diets.

Outside of the museum were a number of statues representing heroic soldiers or families of the fallen.

One significant memorial is devoted to Radha binod Pal. Pal was a judge on the court that was assembled after WWII to address Japanese war crimes. He wrote a 1,000-page sole dissent against the court’s rulings that condemned Japan, supporting the Japanese defense during the trial. This clearly is the perspective supported in this museum — and perhaps by many Japanese as well. Visiting this museum after recently visiting Hiroshima underscores the complex issues that still circle around the causes and events of WWII.

We next traveled to Gōtokuji Temple, with somewhat misleading expectations. It is a Buddhist temple, known as the Cat Temple. We were told there were cats everywhere, and were looking forward to cuddling some kitties. Yes, the place was loaded with cats. However, not the furry kind.

These “beckoning cats” refer to a story about a cat who saved the lord of the manor from a lightning strike by beckoning him to move. They are supposedly harbingers of good luck, and you see them everywhere in these beautiful temple grounds. (Soon one will move to New York with us.)

Don’s Food Corner

It would seem that visiting just two temples would be an easy day. Alas, no. The distances between the two, as all distances in spread-out Tokyo, was greater than expected. We seemed to have traveled on subway lines for hours — changing trains and stations. I have no real idea where we were today. I just blindly followed what Google maps told us to do. (I’m finding that is often a mistake. But there are few options. There are no street names here. A old-timey paper map would be of no use.)

This travel experience cut into our food energies.

When we finally got back to the hotel, Jo opted to go back to the Indian restaurant that she liked yesterday. And today it was just as good. To keep her company, I ordered a small platter of dumplings, thinking that they would arrive as an appetizer before Jo got her meal. I should have known better. The dumplings arrived long after she was served and was actually almost done with her meal. But the dumplings were pretty good and almost worth the wait.

I was determined to have some sushi tonight. Near the hotel is a section packed with small restaurants — none of which had English signs or menus. I wandered around asking the restaurant shills standing outside of most of them: “Sushi?” After a few no’s, I was finally directed to a little hole in the wall.

I should have suspected something when I went in the door and it smelled a little fishy. But it was filled with Japanese, so I figured they should know. They didn’t. It was the worst sushi I’ve had so far in Japan. The sushi you can get in an average Japanese restaurant in New York is better — albeit at three times the price. While it didn’t taste tainted, the presentation was really sloppy. Not the tidy pillows of fish/rice that you would expect. But I ate it and, as I’ve said before, I’ve lived to tell the story. (I forgot to take a photo before I had already eaten most of it. Trust me, it wasn’t pretty.)