"the fever left her: and she arose" - Imperial Palace On August 15, 1945

Tokyo

Imperial Palace On August 15, 1945

On August 14, the Imperial Government of Japan finally decided to surrender to the US military in a special meeting joined by the Emperor.

It was the Emperor himself and Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki, an ex-admiral of the Imperial Navy, that took the critical initiative in this supreme leadership conference of the Empire.

Accordingly, the Emperor planned to deliver by radio his message to the whole Japanese people on acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration that specified conditions for the surrender of the Empire of Japan.  So, the speech was recorded into phonorecords in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo at night of August 14.

 But some officers of the Imperial Amy were strongly against this decision.  In the night of August 14, they actually took a violent action aiming to seize the phonorecords and occupy the public broad casting station in Tokyo.  They tried to make the commander of the Imperial Division, in charge of protecting the Imperial Palace, join their plot.  But the general of the Division refused to act against the will of the Emperor.  Upset by this rejection, insurgent officers killed the commander and his aid.  Then the desperate officers faked an order by the commander to lead some platoons of the Division.

The mad officers and the platoons being mislead forcibly entered the Imperial Palace.  Though they did not try to find and put the Emperor under their control, they exhaustively searched the phonorecords to be broadcast at noon of the next day.  They looked for it in offices of the Imperial Household Ministry situated in the Palace.  They even got into some rooms of  Palace staff members.  But the grand chamberlain hid the records so exquisitely.  The last mad officers of the Imperial Army failed to find them eventually.  But still the Imperial Palace was in danger since the Emperor might have been taken prison by this desperate armed group.

Meanwhile the commander of the Eastern Army Corps got a call from some Imperial staff from the Palace through a radio phone.  The commander, in his office near the Palace, realized the emergency situation happening around the Emperor.  He hurried to the Palace and caught the platoons and put them under his authority.  The insurgence failed.  The mad insurgent officers committed a suicide.  Misled soldiers were ordered to leave the public broadcasting station where the phonorecord containing Emperor's message was brought safely in the morning of August 15.

At noon, all the Japanese citizens and soldiers in the Japanese Archipelago and oversea territories and battle fields listened to the radio, as they had been given advanced notice, and heard the voice of the Emperor for the first time.  Hence the Japanese understood that the war against the US and allied forces was over.

In this way, August 15 became the day to remember the war in Japan as WWII ended on this day in 1945 for the Empire of Japan.

On August 15, General Anami, the Minister of Imperial Army, committed a suicide, performing harakiri like a samurai.

On August 16. General Onishi, the Imperial Navy general who led kamikaze suicide attacks, committed a suicide, performing harakiri like a samurai.

On September 11, General Tojo, the prime minister of the Imperial Government when the Pearl Harbor Attack was carried out, tried to commit a suicide in vain.  He was arrested and hospitalized by US troops having landed on Tokyo.  General Tojo was tried in Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals and executed in 1958.

Fumimaro Konoe, the prime minister of the Imperial Government before General Tojo, committed a suicide on December 12 as he knew that General MacArthur, the supreme commander of occupational forces, decided to arrest Konoe, a remote relative of the Imperial Family, for Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals.

In this way, the year 1945 ended along with the Empire of Japan that looked like having been destined to fall through  WWII.

One notable episode is that the prime minister of the Empire of Japan on August 15, 1945, was Admiral Kantaro Suzuki.  The Emperor trusted PM Suzuki very much.  Admiral Suzuki was a victim of the February 26 Incident of 1936.

The February 26 Incident (also known as the 2-26 Incident) was an attempted coup d'état in Japan on 26 February 1936. It was organized by a group of young Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) officers with the goal of purging the government and military leadership of their factional rivals and ideological opponents.

Although the rebels succeeded in assassinating several leading officials (including two former prime ministers) and in occupying the government center of Tokyo, they failed to assassinate Prime Minister Keisuke Okada or secure control of the Imperial Palace. Their supporters in the army made attempts to capitalize on their actions, but divisions within the military, combined with Imperial anger at the coup, meant they were unable to achieve a change of government. Facing overwhelming opposition as the army moved against them, the rebels surrendered on 29 February.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident    

Admiral Suzuki, Grand Chamberlain at the time of the February 26 Incident, was attacked by insurgent troops and shot four times.  However, his wife acted very courageously and smartly to save the life of the Admiral.

As the Emperor was very angry at those rebels, he all the more trusted Admiral Suzuki.  In addition, the wife of the Admiral had been a kind of nanny of the Emperor when he was an infant.  This strong tie between the Emperor and PM Suzukui made the miracle come true on August 15, 1945, since die-hard Imperial Army had been already determined to fight US troops on Japan's mainland, though Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been already destroyed by US atomic bombs.

Indeed, some crazy officers of the Imperial Army planned to kill PM Suzuki even before August 15, 1945 and take over the Imperial Government so as to lead the nation to desperate battles in Japan's mainland.  But PM Suzuki could skillfully avoid such a crisis for months before August 15 and realized the surrender of the Empire by using the absolute authority of the Emperor.

Soon after the broadcasting of the direct message of the Emperor intended to make the Imperial military unconditionally surrender, PM Suzuki resigned from the prime minister office within August 15, though he was chased by some remnants of crazy insurgents for a while.  Admiral Suzuki could escape an attempt of assassination this time, too.  General MacArthur did not arrest Admiral Suzki and, of course, the Emperor.  Kantrao Suzuki died in 1948 as a free citizen around Tokyo.

It was 1989 the Emperor (of Showa Era) died in Tokyo, while General MacArthur died in 1964 in Washington DC.

Prime Minister and Admiral Kantaro Suzuki
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%88%B4%E6%9C%A8%E8%B2%AB%E5%A4%AA%E9%83%8E#.E7.B5.82.E6.88.A6.E5.B7.A5.E4.BD.9C



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Mat 8:15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

"the disciples had forgotten to take bread" - The Codex Vaticanus

Tokyo

The Codex Vaticanus

The last paragraphs of the Gospel of Mark seem not to have been included in its original form.

Especially they are not included in the Codex Vaticanus, the most authentic Bible book kept in the Vatican..

The Codex Vaticanus, is said to be one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible (Old and New Testament), one of the four great uncial codices.[1] The Codex is named after its place of conservation in the Vatican Library, where it has been kept since at least the 15th century.[2] It is written on 759 leaves of vellum in uncial letters and has been dated palaeographically to the 4th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus

However this Bible lacks the following passages of the Gospel of Mark.

Mark 7:16; 9:44.46; 11:26; 15:28
Mark 16:9–20; —The Book of Mark ends with verse 16:8, consistent with the Alexandrian text-type.

Specifically, their contents are,
Mar 7:16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

Mar 9:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Mar 9:46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Mar 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Mar 15:28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

And the last paragraph, 16.8, is as follows:

Mar 16:8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

Probably, Mark in this Codex Vaticanus must be more authentic than others.  It may be better to omit Mark 7:16; 9:44.46; 11:26; 15:28 and also Mark 16:9–20 from the Gospel of Mark.

But more interesting is how this Codex came to be possessed by the Vatican. 

The manuscript is believed to have been housed in Caesarea in the 6th century, together with the Codex Sinaiticus, as they have the same unique divisions of chapters in the Acts. It came to Italy – probably from Constantinople – after the Council of Florence (1438–1445).

The manuscript has been housed in the Vatican Library (founded by Pope Nicholas V in 1448) for as long as it has been known, appearing in the library's earliest catalog of 1475 (with shelf number 1209), and in the 1481 catalog. In a catalog from 1481 it was described as a "Biblia in tribus columnis ex memb" (three-column vellum Bible).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus#In_the_Vatican_Library

Indeed before the new era began with Columbus and Martin Luther around 1500, this precious Codex was secured in the Vatican.  Maybe it was the most important function for the Vatican in these 500 years.

In my theory, Christ Jesus Himself wrote the Gospel of Mark whose original form happened to be preserved in the Vatican just before the era of Columbus and Martin Luther.





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Mar 8:13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.
Mar 8:14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
Mar 8:15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
Mar 8:16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
Mar 8:17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
Mar 8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

"in time of temptation fall away" - Clement IV

Tokyo

Clement IV

There was a Pope who had married to have two daughters before he became a monk, a bishop, and a cardinal in the Vatican.

Clement IV, born Gui Foulques, Roman Catholic Pope from 1265 to 1268, son of a successful lawyer and judge, was born at St Gilles-sur-Rhône. He studied law, and became a valued adviser of Louis IX of France. He married, and was the father of two daughters, but after the death of his wife took orders. In 1257 he became bishop of Le Puy; in 1259 he was elected archbishop of Narbonne; and on the 24th of December 1261 Urban IV created him cardinal bishop of Sabina. He was appointed legate in England on the 22nd of November 1263, and before his return was elected pope at Perugia on the 5th of February 1265.
http://www.nndb.com/people/195/000094910/ 

When Guy Foulquois embraced the ecclesiastical state, he contracted friendship with the holy doctors Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Bonaventure. Urban IV, who had great confidence in Guy, made him cardinal-bishop of Sabina, to reward the ability with which he had filled the office of legate to England, when sent there to appease the differences between the king, Henry III, and Simon de Montfort. The Cardinal-bishop of Sabina was absent when Urban IV died; nevertheless the Sacred College elected him pontiff. Being informed of his election, he repaired to Viterbo, and on his knees entreated the electors not to persist in their choice; but they were inflexible. He ascended the throne with the name of Clement IV, and was crowned on the 22nd of February, 1265, which was the year in which Dante Alighieri was born.
...

Clement, weakened by old age and sickness, but full of glory and of merits in the administration of Holy Church, died at Viterbo, on the 29th of November, 1268, and was interred in the church of the Dominicans. He was the first pontiff on whose tomb armorial bearings were placed. This pontiff, who never entered Rome, governed the Church three years, nine months, and twenty days. 

Clement IV would not allow his relations to be near him and he forbade them to make any recommendations to him. He married his niece to a simple knight, and promised only a moderate sum as her marriage portion. He showed no greater eagerness for the settlement in life of two daughters left him by his marriage; and they became nuns in the abbey of Saint Sauveur, at Nimes. 

Novaes is untiring in his admiration of Clement IV. "He was," says that historian, "an eloquent preacher and a consummate jurisconsult. Durand calls him 'light of the law, illustrious in penance, in prayer, in apostolic zeal, in modesty, and in morals, so that the higher he rose in dignity, the more he flourished in sanctity.' During his whole reign he undertook nothing of consequence without first consulting the Sacred College."
http://www.saint-mike.org/library/papal_library/clementiv/biography.html

It is very interesting that the Vatican elected such an ex-civilian to the Pope in the late 13th century. At the time the Crusade was still sent around Jerusalem while Baghdad was occupied by invading Mongolians. It was time when Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant, was traveling from Constantinople to China and then back to Venice.

In this period the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire were at a kind of crisis.  Though leaders of Muslims later succeeded in getting through a crisis, the Byzantine Empire never regained its strength and influence.  On the other hand, Mongolians subsequently lost interest in conquering the Middle East and Europe.  And Europe or specifically Western Europe and the Vatican continued their way in the Middle Ages into Renaissance.

The fact that a man like Clement IV became Pope in the late 13th century must have been a portent of Renaissance that started in the 14th century in Italy, good or bad.

And if the trend that an ex-ordinary-citizen cardinal or an ex-layman cardinal became Pope had continued after Clement IV, the Vatican today should be more efficient in their work for God.  

In addition, Clement IV took a stern measure against Judaism.

Pope Clement IV issues the papal bull Turbato corde, equating conversion or relapse to Judaism with heresy and thus forbidding Christians from doing so. 

According to Clement, the jurisdiction of "Inquisitors of heresy" (Dominican and Franciscan Inquisitors) will now include four new categories of persons: Jews who had been baptized into Christianity, Jews who help the former return from Christianity to Judaism, Christians who demonstrate any attraction to Judaism, and Jews who lure Christians to convert to Judaism
http://skepticism.org/timeline/july-history/7085-pope-clement-iv-declares-relapse-judaism-comparable-heresy.html

Probably it could be regraded as one of major factors that caused tragedies of Judaists in later centuries.   Renaissance was, from the beginning, not destined for providing great advantage to Judaists.  

http://skepticism.org/timeline/july-history/7085-pope-clement-iv-declares-relapse-judaism-comparable-heresy.html



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Luk 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

"The seed is the word of God" - A Hebrew Christian Church

A Display of Japan in WWII by a Peace Movement Group around Tokyo

A Hebrew Christian Church

Today, there is still one Christian sect which reflects traditions of the early stage of the religion.
It is the Saint Thomas Christians in India that preserve characteristics of Judaist Christianity or Christian Judaism.

Saint Thomas Christians

The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians or Nasrani, are an ancient community of Christians from Kerala, India, who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.[3] The community was historically united in leadership and liturgy, but since the 17th century have been split into several different church denominations and traditions.

...

The Saint Thomas Christians are so called due to their reverence for Saint Thomas the Apostle, who is said to have brought Christianity to India. The name dates to the period of Portuguese colonization. They are also known, especially locally, as the Nasrani or Nasrani Mappila. "Nasrani" is a term meaning "Christian"; it appears to be derived from Nazareth, the home town of Jesus.

...


The most commonly believed tradition of origin among Saint Thomas Christians relates to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle, who is said to have come to India in middle of the 1st century.[8] There is no contemporary evidence for Thomas being in the subcontinent, though it was possible for a Roman Jew of the time to make such a trip. Groups such as the Cochin Jews and Bene Israel are known to have existed in India around that time.
...

St. Thomas Christians are a distinct community, both in terms of culture and religion. Though their liturgy and theology remained that of East-Syrian Christians of Persia, their life-style customs and traditions were basically Indian. It is oft-quoted: "Nazranis are Indian in culture, Christian in faith and Syrian in liturgy".

The presence of Jews among the early Malabar Nasrani Christians had significant effects on the liturgy and traditions of the entire community.[2] The community maintained some of the original rituals of the early Jewish Christians, such as covering their heads while in worship. Their ritual services were and still are called the Qurbana (also spelled Kurbana), which is derived from the Aramaic and Hebrew term korban (קרבן), meaning "sacrifice".. The Nasrani Qurbana used to be held in Syriac.[

...

The Saint Thomas Cross is widely perceived as the symbol of Saint Thomas Christians. It is also known as Nasrani Menorah[111] or Mar Thoma Sliba.[112] There are several interpretations for the Nasrani Symbol. The interpretation based on Christian Jewish tradition assumes that its design was based on Jewish menorah, an ancient symbol of the Hebrews, which consists of seven branched lamp stand (candelabra).[113]

...

Saint Thomas Christians observe Holy Thursday with high reverence. This day is referred to as Pesaha, a Malayalam word derived from the Aramaic or Hebrew word for Passover—Pasha or Pesah—commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus Christ during Passover in Jerusalem. The tradition of consuming Pesaha Appam after the church service is observed by the entire community under the leadership of the head of the family. Special long services followed by the Holy Qurbana are conducted during the Pesaha eve in the churches.

...

The ritual service (liturgy) is called the Holy Qurbana, which is derived from the Hebrew Korban (קרבן), meaning "sacrifice".

...

Saint Thomas Christians use terms like "Eashoa" (Jesus' name in Aramaic[127]), "Yeshu" (Hebrew name Yeshua) to denote Jesus Christ.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Thomas_Christians

It is unclear whether St. Thomas really traveled to India.  But there must be a concrete reason that they are called Saint Thomas Christians.

It is also noteworthy that St. Thomas set his base for mission in Edessa, a kingdom later focused on by Christians because of its connection to the Holy Shroud.

The earliest known source connecting the apostle to India is the Acts of Thomas, likely written in the early 3rd century, perhaps in Edessa.[8][12][13] The text describes Thomas' adventures in bringing Christianity to India, a tradition later expanded upon in early Indian sources such as the "Thomma Parvam" ("Song of Thomas"). 

Though Christianity, like other religions, intends to save individuals, its historical deployment is meaningful in thinking about environments and conditions each individual is inevitably bound to.  So, India has not become a Christian kingdom or a Christian domain.  We may doubt how effective this faction of Christianity was in past.  But like Judaism, it has not been perished; it survived keeping original Hebrew traits.  Probably only for this reason, we have to show respect for Saint Thomas Christians as much as for the Vatican.





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Luk 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.