過去の慰霊祭　第五回 2017年

2017年（平成29年）7月9日
日米戦没者慰霊祭：於・アデラップ、グアム政府知事庁舎公園（アサン村）
地元民犠牲者慰霊祭：於・チュグニアン（ジーゴ村）

解説：靖國神社斎主鈴木貴彦禰宜・祭員金子修平宮掌の元、副知事レイ・テノリオ氏、ジーゴ、アサン、ピティ村村長、米海軍士官、田村義富参謀長の甥御弘正氏らが参加する。落成式を祝って三田徳明雅樂研究會が前年に続いて参加し舞楽「蘭陵王」を演納する。

靖國神社斎主鈴木貴彦禰宜・祭員金子修平宮掌の元、副知事レイ・テノリオ氏、ジーゴ、アサン、ピティ村村長、米海軍士官、田村義富参謀長の甥御弘正氏らが参加する。落成式を祝って三田徳明雅樂研究會が前年に続いて参加し舞楽「蘭陵王」を演納する。

代表世話役芳賀建介と神社建立に寄せて

多年の希望が叶いグアムに大東亜戦争（太平洋戦争）戦没者を鎮魂する神社が建ちました。太平洋諸島や海域に散華した御霊が集まり来て慰撫鎮魂が叶います。
　神社建立に際しては紆余曲折が重なり大変ではありましたが計画当初から地元の人達が協力的であったことに勇気を頂いて、ようやく理想の場所に希望の神社が建ちました。この神社が完成されるまで地元の人達、とりわけて「風化させない会」グアム代表のジーン・カマチョ氏の熱意とその戦没者への尊崇の気持ちなくしては成就しなかったし、副知事レイ・テノリオ氏の多年に渡る友誼と即断即決がなければ完成に何年もかかった事でありましょう。
　戦後73年を経て、かつての敵国であり地元民を戦禍に巻き込み少なからぬ犠牲者を出しているかつての敵地に、しかも被害を受け犠牲になった地元民の手によってグアム政府の中枢である「知事庁舎公苑敷地内」に神社が建つ意義は大きく、心鎮まる安住の地を得たご英霊は安心なされておられるでしょう。機会を与えてくださった地元の人々に英霊の鎮魂に心を寄せる全ての同胞を代表してその慈悲心に感謝申し上げます。

YouTube 2017 「グアム第五回戦没者慰霊祭」
http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/07/09/new-shrine-promotes-peace-and-unity-between-guam-and-japan/462583001/
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/guam-chinkon-shrine/collection_4f668bba-6484-11e7-92e6-eb4988af48e9.html

日米戦没者慰霊祭：於・アデラップ、グアム政府知事庁舎公園（アサン村）

地元民犠牲者慰霊祭：於・チュグニアン（ジーゴ村）　

全ての人の御霊、安からんことを願って　　日本国衆議院議員平沼赳夫・元国務大臣、戦争を風化させない会会長

　大東亜戦争で一万八千人の日本の将兵が尊い命を落としたグアムでの慰霊祭・神社落成式には現地の皆様方の大変手厚いご協力を頂いたことに、衷心より御礼申し上げます。
　慰霊祭で日本人だけではなく、戦争でお亡くなりになられた米国、地元すべての人の御霊の安からんことをお祈り申し上げます。

心から感謝の気持ちを込めて　　芳賀建介・戦争を風化させない会世話役

　多年の希望が叶いグアムに大東亜戦争（太平洋戦争）戦没者を鎮魂する神社が建ちました。太平洋諸島や海域に散華した御霊が集まり来て慰撫鎮魂が叶います。
　神社建立に際しては紆余曲折が重なり大変ではありましたが計画当初から地元の人達が協力的であったことに勇気を頂いて、ようやく理想の場所に希望の神社が建ちました。この神社が完成されるまで地元の人達、とりわけて「風化させない会」グアム代表のジーン・カマチョ氏の熱意とその戦没者への尊崇の気持ちなくしては成就しなかったし、副知事レイ・テノリオ氏の多年に渡る友誼と即断即決がなければ完成に何年もかかった事でありましょう。
　戦後73年を経て、かつての敵国であり地元民を戦禍に巻き込み少なからぬ犠牲者を出しているかつての敵地に、しかも被害を受け犠牲になった地元民の手によってグアム政府の中枢である知事公社敷地内に神社が建つ意義は大きく、心鎮まる安住の地を得たご英霊は安心なされておられるでしょう。機会を与えてくださった地元の人々に英霊の鎮魂に心を寄せる全ての同胞を代表してその慈悲心に感謝申し上げます。
　今日のこの式典は正に後世に残る奇跡的な式典であって、私達は知らずして歴史的な瞬間に立ち会っております。この鎮魂神社はこれから何十年、何百年とここに鎮座し歴史の目撃者となります。今ここにいる我々はその一幅の風景として輝きますがやがて忘れ去られます。しかしかつて太平洋の島々で散華したご英霊のこと、また、そのご英霊の犠牲的精神に感謝し尊崇の念からここに鎮魂社を建立しようと参集した私達の気持ちは永遠に残され失われることはありません。参集された皆様を誇りに思います。
　式典の開催にあたって遠路から来島された皆さん、ご奉仕くださった日本人学校の校長先生と先生がた、それに地元のスタッフと我が社員。様々な提供をしてくださった企業の社長、支援後援して下さった各村長に心からお礼を申し上げます。
　末筆になりますが「戦争を風化させない会」が発足して5年の間、有志としてこれまで様々な友誼を尽くして下さった前衆議院議員三宅博様が今年3月に逝去されたことをお知らせします。我が国の将来を深く憂慮し、国のあるべき姿に熱弁を奮っておられた勇姿を忘れません。このことを明記すると共に心からのお悔やみを申し上げます。また、これまで我々の慰霊行為を陰となり日向となって支援し適切なアドバイスを下さった、「世界救世教会いづのめ教団」の前田和徳様が先月お亡くなりになられました。先生のご交誼を忘れることはありません。心からご冥福をお祈り申し上げます。

Lt. Governor of Guam, The Honorable Ray Tenorio（グアム政府副知事　レイ・テノリオ）

"Guam is a melting pot of many Asian, Pacific, and American cultures. We find strength in this diversity and our common quest for peace. Today, we honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their nation and pray for world peace.
The Japanese community has been embedded into the fabric of our island community for many generations now. This shrine represents the bonds of a shared history and provides hope for a bright future."

Mayor of Asan-Maina, The Honorable Frankie Salas & Staff アサン村村長フランキー・サラス

"PEACE CANNOT BE KEPT BY FORCE, IT CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED BY UNDERSTANDING" (Albert Einstein)

The Unforgotten Sacrifices of War 戦争を風化させない会 Vice Director & Guam Representative
Eugene Camacho/ユージン・カマチョ

“The past is the past and we must forgive in order to move on or move forward. As we continue to hold these ceremonies and with the erection of the Guam Chinkon Shrine, their stories will never be forgotten and the understanding peace and unity will prevail. It is our hope that these memorial services such as this can bring the governments and its people a bit closer to the realization that while mistakes were made in the past, forgiveness and acceptance are the two methods necessary for mankind to move forward.”

Unforgotten Sacrifices of War 鎮魂神社の建立に寄せてグアムデイリーニュース記事

Chinkon Shrine embodies beliefs of Shinto
The dedication of the Guam Chinkon Shrine could have been a controversial occasion when it was hosted in Adelup back on July 9.
July is an important month for Guam, one of the most patriotic places anywhere in America. The Fourth of July and Liberation Day celebrations are important days on island which honor the sacrifices of American soldiers and Cｈamoru civilians. World War II has made an impact psychologically and physically on the island. The war lives on to this day, unforgotten in the minds of war survivors and their descendants, despite the seven decades that separate today and the day war ended in the Pacific.
America’s return to Guam to overthrow Japanese occupation is remembered in such positive ways; it’s what helps make the island’s people proud to be U.S. citizens.
By contrast, the Japanese occupation era lives on as the boogeyman in Guam’s closet. Its atrocities are also remembered on Guam, although in much darker terms.
Honoring all war casualties “We are there for them (the kami), we perform for them.” – Ken Haga,

In the middle of this very significant month in Guam history, the dedication of the Guam Chinkon Shrine could have seemed out of place. It is a Shinto shrine meant to honor war casualties of all nationalities on Guam – American soldiers and Chammoru civilians, in addition to the Japanese soldiers who once occupied the island.
But because of the efforts of Ken Haga and Eugene Camacho of the Unforgotten Sacrifices of War (USW) organization, instead of it being a point of division in the community, the ceremony was one of peace and unity.
“Every year we do this, and people misunderstand us,” says Camacho. “They think we’re honoring the Japanese, but it’s not true. Every year, there’s two ceremonies. Every year, the many Japanese come here and pray for the locals first. We had our ceremony in Chagui’an, (USW) were all there.”
For his part, Haga believes creating the Guam Chinkon Shrine helps bring peace to more than just the community.
“Shinto believes those people that died goes to heaven. But some not go to heaven, still they are wandering in the area,” he told The Guam Daily Post. “Same thing of the U.S. (souls). Same thing for the local. That’s what we believe. Those people are wondering where to go. So (we invite them to) come and stay and rest.”
Outside of Japan, the Shinto religion gets negative press for harboring nationalistic, far right-wing Japanese sentiment. But as told by Haga, Camacho and their guest a Yasukuni Shinto priests from Tokyo who took part in the dedication and blessing of the Guam Chinkon Shrine, the Shinto religion is one that has subtle differences in practice based on which region of Japan the Shinto priest is from.
According to Mita, under his ideal Shinto philosophy, prayers for harmony should be extended to everyone, regardless of faith or nationality.
“Those people who never ever learning for this philosophy, they got already a one-sided idea saying (Shinto) is only for the Japanese,” Gagaku master Noriaki Mita says, adding that an inability to be open has allowed the rest of the world to think poorly of Shintoism.
Mita says the idea that Shintoism is an extension of Japanese right-wing sentiment was brought up because Shinto priests themselves began to lose sight of extending prayers to everyone.
He wants to change that association, and looked toward the USW and the Guam Chinkon Shrine as an opportunity to create a more progressive Shinto practice.
Understanding Mitama they call kamisama
The story of the Guam Chinkon Shrine actually begins in 2016, when Mita was helping his high school-aged daughter research World War II. To give her more hands-on knowledge, Mita and his family would later book a trip to Guam using Haga’s tour company. It was during this time that Haga would tell Mita about his ambition to create a shrine that honors the kami(Soul or Mitama) of all who died on Guam during WWII.
A year later, at the blessing of the Guam Chinkon Shrine, Shinto priests an Mita and other placed the mirror in an omiya, a Shinto shrine. Yin and yang, black and white, war and peace
In unveiling the new shrine, Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio underscored the importance of its specific position at the Governor’s Complex, located south of the Latte of Freedom.
“I think contrast is one of the most important conversations we can have – yin and yang, black and white, war and peace,” Tenorio began as he gestured to the artillery gun only yards away. “You have the weapon of war on the same footprint as we have a peace memorial. This piece of war is rusting away, and this peace memorial is new and pristine. That’s the way we want war and conflict to be, and that’s the way we want peace and harmony to be.”
Everything done at the Guam Chinkon Shrine dedication was done as if the spirits were present, including performing the bugaku, a special Japanese folk dance performed only for royalty and special visiting dignitaries.
The bugaku dancer was dressed head to toe in beautiful silk attire, and wore an elaborate dragon face mask. Throughout the performance, the dancer faced only the omiya, and Haga says this was done on purpose.
“We are there for them (the Mitama), we perform for them. Not for the gallery,” Haga told the Post.
With so much time passed between the war and 2017, Haga and Camacho said they hope that aside from the Mitama, the people of the world can allow themselves to come to rest as well.
“After 70 years, things change,” Camacho says. “(Japan) is one of the greatest allies of the U.S. Why would they not pray for the U.S. as well?”

· Andrew Roberto（記者名）| The Guam Daily Post（新聞社名）
https://www.postguam.com/entertainment/lifestyle/prayers-for-harmony/article_9acae908-703b-11e7-9307-43e8c8b01ca2.html