Main building
Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Tokyo that commemorates Japan's war dead.
The shrine was founded in 1869 as Tokyo Shokonsha, and was renamed Yasukuni Shrine in 1879. It was built in order to commemorate and worship those who have died in war for their country and sacrificed their lives to help build the foundation for a peaceful Japan (the meaning of Yasukuni is "peaceful country").
The large torii (entrance gate) of Yasukuni Shrine
The deities of about 2.5 million people who died for Japan in the conflicts accompanying the Meiji Restoration, the Satsuma Rebellion and similar domestic conflicts, the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, the Manchurian Incident, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War are enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine in form of written records, which note name, origin and date and place of death of everyone enshrined.
The Yushukan, a museum commemorating Japan's wars is located just next to the shrine's main buildings.
Yushukan
A political controversy surrounds Yasukuni Shrine because since 1978, fourteen class A war criminals are among the 2.5 million people enshrined at Yasukuni. Furthermore, the visits by several Japanese prime ministers to the shrine since 1975 have been causing concerns regarding a violation of the principle of separation of church and state.
For some people, especially in the Asian countries which suffered most under past Japanese imperialism, the shrine has become a symbol for Japanese militarism and ultra-nationalism, and many are taking the prime ministers' visits as a sign hat Japan's political leaders are not looking critically enough at their country's history.
Attempts to remove the war criminals from the Yasukuni Shrine have failed due to the shrine's refusal. Other discussions to solve the problem center around plans to create a currently non-existent alternative to the Yasukuni Shrine for commemorating and worshipping Japan's war dead.
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