It is a must-read for all Berliners who erected a statue of the comfort women in the city's center.
The weight of history creates a sense of unity at the populace level.
Takayama
In 1993, when I was in the United States as a correspondent in Los Angeles, APEC happened to be hosted by Clinton.
Morihiro Hosokawa came from Japan, and Mahathir called for Japan and ASEAN to create an economic organization called the East Asia Economic Council (EAEC). Clinton was trying to kill it with APEC.
I was amazed at Clinton's sight bent over and showing Hosokawa Morihiro around as the heads of state and government lined up in Seattle.
He bent over and went in front of Hosokawa like a theater usher. 'Your seat is here.'
He was a mess after that, though, there is naturally a difference in dignity between a poor peasant in Arkansas and a feudal lord's family that has been in existence for 400 years.
Even Clinton, who knew nothing about Japan, sensed a sense of dignity in him that was rooted in history.
It's just that Hosokawa himself didn't notice it.
Watanabe.
Yes, he doesn't realize it (laughs). That's interesting.
Takayama.
Didn't he wonder, too?
He wondered why Clinton was bending over to lead him around.
I thought he should just let it lead him through the streets with his chest out and not bow down as I watched TV.
I don't know if that scene was ever televised in Japan.
The programs over there played it endlessly.
Watanabe.
I see.
The long history feels connected, and the reason why the noble and feudal families have survived to this day is that the victors have never thoroughly avenged.
So in Japan, even though the national body changed several times, the fundamental idea of crowning the Emperor did not break down.
For example, even with the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa family served as president of the House of Peers for two generations. The feudal lords of the Bakufu era were treated as noblemen, hardly a so-called revolution.
For example, the Aizu Matsudaira family's daughter, once considered the dynasty's enemy, married a royal family (Princess Yasuhito of Prince Chichibu), and promoted reconciliation.
Takayama
If you go back to the past, the feudal lords who participated in the Western Army were allowed to continue to exist as Tozama daimyō, and the whole of Japan held them in harmony and respect.
It is also something that has not been seen in the history of the West.
Watanabe
That is why Japanese people have a sense of being Japanese.
No modern nation has a long history from the time of mythology; for example, no modern country has a history that stretches back to 712, the year Kojiki was established.
The genealogy of the goddesses and male gods who created the nation in mythology has survived, which has led to the imperial family.
There is no nation whose genealogy is connected from mythology to the current generation, whether in Greek or Germanic mythology.
That makes us different from other countries in terms of a sense of unity.
I don't know if you would be surprised or believe me if I explained this to a foreigner. In 2014, Queen Noriko, the Prince Takamado family's daughter, married Mrs. Kunimaro Senke, the second-highest-ranking priest at Izumo Shrine (after her father's priest), right?
As for how far back it goes, the descendants of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the descendants of the imperial grandson of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, are the Takamado family, and Ninigi-no-Mikoto's brother is the ancestor of the Senke family. In other words, they connected with the Age of the Gods.
Since ancient times, both families have linked their genealogies, and even the shrines are still in existence.
Shrines and genealogies are both still in existence.
If we apply this story to other countries, the descendants of Agamemnon of Achaia, who attacked the Trojan War, still exist and guard the temple, and Troy's descendants, who were attacked, still exist. The descendants of Agamemnon married the daughter of Troy in addition to the genealogy, which is unthinkable. (Laughs)
Not only is this possible, but it's actually happening.
Izumo Taisha Shrine is mentioned in the legend of Okuninushi's ceding of the country in the Kojiki.
In this story, he demanded that they build the magnificent Izumo Taisha Shrine in exchange for the country.
(If you set up the shrine pillar until it reaches the stone roots at the bottom of the earth, and build a great shrine with a thousand trees high enough to reach the high heavens, I will hand over the country and stay there.)
The shape of the building from the mythical era is still intact.
In simpler terms, it's called the east and the west, and the south and north.
Of these, there are only two ways to read West, South, and North.
The West is Sei and Nishi, the south is Nan and Minami, and the north is Hoku and Kita.
However, there are three ways to read the east.
Toe, Higashi, and Azuma.
The reason for this is the myth of Yamato Takeru's eastern expedition.
The sacrifice of the queen Ototachibana Himeno Mikoto when she entered the water to calm the stormy waves to cross the sea towards the Boso peninsula was called 'Azuma Haya,' which is the origin of the name 'Azuma' for the east country.
This myth is the reason why the reading 'Azuma' has continued to the present day.
It's a unique country, a miracle of sorts.
Takayama
It was also MacArthur who tried to dismiss that myth from our head and cut off the historical connection.
Nevertheless, we can feel the connection of history, from the mythical to the historical period, because we can feel that something old has been preserved and continues to live on in Japanese society.
Recently, for example, research on the Jomon period has shown that the idea that Japan was a frontier country on the outskirts of the world is not the case at all.
With its very ornate ornaments and trade goods, and its equal and humane society, the Jomon period laid the foundation for the Japanese culture that followed. Pottery was also made before the rest of the world.
The Japanese don't know about these things, and some newspapers and media don't try to inform them.
The Japanese have been planting chestnuts and Japanese millet, living in harmony with the richness of nature, and living a sophisticated collective life ahead of the rest of the world since the ancient days of the Jomon.
It has been passed down from generation to generation in the form of today's society and organizations.
If not, we would not be able to have such a mature democracy.
Watanabe
Right.
Takayama.
The other day I went to Iki. The shrine of Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, the younger brother of Amaterasu no Mikoto and older brother of Susanoo no Mikoto, which appears in the 'Chronicles of Japan,' was still intact.
The shrines have not been affected by Japan's Mongol invasions, and the shrines have been taken good care of; and interestingly enough, there are no temples in Iki, only shrines.
If you visit many places in Japan, you will find that myths are still intact in the form of shrines, and the history of these shrines, which predate the arrival of Buddhism, is well preserved.
I feel that things from ancient times have passed down from generation to generation.
Watanabe.
The occupation forces have interfered with Japanese religion by issuing Shinto directives (prohibition orders) to show that the Emperor is not God.
For example, they temporarily abolished the school called Jingu Kogakkan, and Kokugakuin University could no longer teach 'Kojiki.'
But at Sophia University, where I was a student, there was a course on Kojiki in the liberal arts.
When I attended this course, I read the Kojiki itself and realized that mythology is the foundation of the Japanese view of history.
Seventy years have passed since the war, but this fact has not changed, and many Japanese people are now aware of it. It's a significant change.
Takayama
In 1993, when I was in the United States as a correspondent in Los Angeles, APEC happened to be hosted by Clinton.
Morihiro Hosokawa came from Japan, and Mahathir called for Japan and ASEAN to create an economic organization called the East Asia Economic Council (EAEC). Clinton was trying to kill it with APEC.
I was amazed at Clinton's sight bent over and showing Hosokawa Morihiro around as the heads of state and government lined up in Seattle.
He bent over and went in front of Hosokawa like a theater usher. 'Your seat is here.'
He was a mess after that, though, there is naturally a difference in dignity between a poor peasant in Arkansas and a feudal lord's family that has been in existence for 400 years.
Even Clinton, who knew nothing about Japan, sensed a sense of dignity in him that was rooted in history.
It's just that Hosokawa himself didn't notice it.
Watanabe.
Yes, he doesn't realize it (laughs). That's interesting.
Takayama.
Didn't he wonder, too?
He wondered why Clinton was bending over to lead him around.
I thought he should just let it lead him through the streets with his chest out and not bow down as I watched TV.
I don't know if that scene was ever televised in Japan.
The programs over there played it endlessly.
Watanabe.
I see.
The long history feels connected, and the reason why the noble and feudal families have survived to this day is that the victors have never thoroughly avenged.
So in Japan, even though the national body changed several times, the fundamental idea of crowning the Emperor did not break down.
For example, even with the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa family served as president of the House of Peers for two generations. The feudal lords of the Bakufu era were treated as noblemen, hardly a so-called revolution.
For example, the Aizu Matsudaira family's daughter, once considered the dynasty's enemy, married a royal family (Princess Yasuhito of Prince Chichibu), and promoted reconciliation.
Takayama
If you go back to the past, the feudal lords who participated in the Western Army were allowed to continue to exist as Tozama daimyō, and the whole of Japan held them in harmony and respect.
It is also something that has not been seen in the history of the West.
Watanabe
That is why Japanese people have a sense of being Japanese.
No modern nation has a long history from the time of mythology; for example, no modern country has a history that stretches back to 712, the year Kojiki was established.
The genealogy of the goddesses and male gods who created the nation in mythology has survived, which has led to the imperial family.
There is no nation whose genealogy is connected from mythology to the current generation, whether in Greek or Germanic mythology.
That makes us different from other countries in terms of a sense of unity.
I don't know if you would be surprised or believe me if I explained this to a foreigner. In 2014, Queen Noriko, the Prince Takamado family's daughter, married Mrs. Kunimaro Senke, the second-highest-ranking priest at Izumo Shrine (after her father's priest), right?
As for how far back it goes, the descendants of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the descendants of the imperial grandson of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, are the Takamado family, and Ninigi-no-Mikoto's brother is the ancestor of the Senke family. In other words, they connected with the Age of the Gods.
Since ancient times, both families have linked their genealogies, and even the shrines are still in existence.
Shrines and genealogies are both still in existence.
If we apply this story to other countries, the descendants of Agamemnon of Achaia, who attacked the Trojan War, still exist and guard the temple, and Troy's descendants, who were attacked, still exist. The descendants of Agamemnon married the daughter of Troy in addition to the genealogy, which is unthinkable. (Laughs)
Not only is this possible, but it's actually happening.
Izumo Taisha Shrine is mentioned in the legend of Okuninushi's ceding of the country in the Kojiki.
In this story, he demanded that they build the magnificent Izumo Taisha Shrine in exchange for the country.
(If you set up the shrine pillar until it reaches the stone roots at the bottom of the earth, and build a great shrine with a thousand trees high enough to reach the high heavens, I will hand over the country and stay there.)
The shape of the building from the mythical era is still intact.
In simpler terms, it's called the east and the west, and the south and north.
Of these, there are only two ways to read West, South, and North.
The West is Sei and Nishi, the south is Nan and Minami, and the north is Hoku and Kita.
However, there are three ways to read the east.
Toe, Higashi, and Azuma.
The reason for this is the myth of Yamato Takeru's eastern expedition.
The sacrifice of the queen Ototachibana Himeno Mikoto when she entered the water to calm the stormy waves to cross the sea towards the Boso peninsula was called 'Azuma Haya,' which is the origin of the name 'Azuma' for the east country.
This myth is the reason why the reading 'Azuma' has continued to the present day.
It's a unique country, a miracle of sorts.
Takayama
It was also MacArthur who tried to dismiss that myth from our head and cut off the historical connection.
Nevertheless, we can feel the connection of history, from the mythical to the historical period, because we can feel that something old has been preserved and continues to live on in Japanese society.
Recently, for example, research on the Jomon period has shown that the idea that Japan was a frontier country on the outskirts of the world is not the case at all.
With its very ornate ornaments and trade goods, and its equal and humane society, the Jomon period laid the foundation for the Japanese culture that followed. Pottery was also made before the rest of the world.
The Japanese don't know about these things, and some newspapers and media don't try to inform them.
The Japanese have been planting chestnuts and Japanese millet, living in harmony with the richness of nature, and living a sophisticated collective life ahead of the rest of the world since the ancient days of the Jomon.
It has been passed down from generation to generation in the form of today's society and organizations.
If not, we would not be able to have such a mature democracy.
Watanabe
Right.
Takayama.
The other day I went to Iki. The shrine of Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, the younger brother of Amaterasu no Mikoto and older brother of Susanoo no Mikoto, which appears in the 'Chronicles of Japan,' was still intact.
The shrines have not been affected by Japan's Mongol invasions, and the shrines have been taken good care of; and interestingly enough, there are no temples in Iki, only shrines.
If you visit many places in Japan, you will find that myths are still intact in the form of shrines, and the history of these shrines, which predate the arrival of Buddhism, is well preserved.
I feel that things from ancient times have passed down from generation to generation.
Watanabe.
The occupation forces have interfered with Japanese religion by issuing Shinto directives (prohibition orders) to show that the Emperor is not God.
For example, they temporarily abolished the school called Jingu Kogakkan, and Kokugakuin University could no longer teach 'Kojiki.'
But at Sophia University, where I was a student, there was a course on Kojiki in the liberal arts.
When I attended this course, I read the Kojiki itself and realized that mythology is the foundation of the Japanese view of history.
Seventy years have passed since the war, but this fact has not changed, and many Japanese people are now aware of it. It's a significant change.
