Return to utopia? Vision and practice of the Japanese right at Yasukuni shrine

The Shinto shrine Yasukuni has drawn international attention as a controversial site for its enshrinement of convicted war criminals and glorification of Japanese colonialism. Every year on the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in 1945, it draws a festival-like crowd; among the crowd are right-wing political activists, individuals in military regalia, and representatives of right-wing organizations dressed in pseudo-militaristic uniforms performing monologues and marching in formation, among other activities. This article examines the meaning and ideology underpinning the (re)enactment of Japanese empire and war at Yasukuni shrine. In Japan, the far-right have appropriated Shinto as a pillar of an imagined, lost ‘tradition’ which must be resuscitated to save society from moral and political collapse. The article argues that despite its call to the past, this imaginary emerges as an ontological and epistemological challenge to the secularization and liberalization which took place in the decades following World War II. Yasukuni is positioned as both the inspiration for, and location of, this utopianism. More than escapism, the enactment of utopia at the shrine embodies an active project to win the hearts and minds of the Japanese people, the ultimate aim of which is to construct an anti-secular, reactionary and illiberal social order.