In a powerful clash of history and identity, indigenous communities in Taiwan and families in the Republic of Korea (ROK) are demanding Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine remove their ancestors’ names—a site that enshrines WWII Class-A war criminals alongside victims of Japanese aggression. 🔥 The controversy echoes globally: Imagine a memorial placing Hitler next to Holocaust victims. Yet this shrine persists, weaponizing memory against the colonized.
‘We Are Not Japanese’
Kao Chin Su-mei, leader of Taiwan’s Atayal tribe descendants, tearfully recounted to media how Japanese police blocked her 2005 delegation from retrieving ancestral spirits: "They bullied our ancestors in 1895, and they’re still bullying us." Her mother’s tribe, like many Taiwan indigenous groups, saw ancestors forcibly enshrined as "loyal subjects" of Japan—a cruel rewrite of history.
A Legacy of Colonial Brutality
From 1895-1945, Japan’s rule in Taiwan was marked by severed heads, forced labor, and cultural erasure. Mona Bawan, descendant of Wushe Incident survivors, described how Japan pitted tribes against each other: "They used our people as tools for colonial control." Logs stripped from Taiwan’s mountains built Japan’s economy, while indigenous traditions were banned and lands stolen.
The Fight Continues
Decades later, descendants like Mahung Pawan—great-granddaughter of resistance leader Mona Rudao—refuse silence. Her ancestor’s 1930 uprising against Japanese forces ended in mass suicide, a desperate bid for dignity. "We’d rather die than accept disgrace," she said. Now, their battle shifts to reclaiming spirits trapped in Yasukuni’s registers—a fight as much about the future as the past. ✊
