In 1944, another list was added to the temple honoring other Japanese who died during the "Great East Asia War," as Japan called its invasions of Asia.
There is no question here of debating whether Japan was responsible for the war.
"There is no consensus on the interpretation of the war," Tokutomi said. "Sixty years have not been enough to erase the [anti-Japanese] prejudices and reveal the truth."
Underneath a wooden ceiling decorated by a magnificent dragon, the temple has a mish-mash of mementos to both Japan and China.
At the entrance, a calendar depicts the family of Crown Prince Naruhito and his US-educated wife Masako. On the walls are General Matsui's uniform, a bamboo sword, etchings of soldiers and old photographs, including one of Radha Binod Pal, the virulent Indian critic of the West who was the sole judge at the war crimes trials to acquit Japanese leaders.
Two wall paintings show scenes of the Chinese countryside from 1939-1940 and the altar has two glazed wooden placards dedicated to the memory of Japanese and Chinese soldiers.
In the same vein, the statue of the goddess Kannon is mixed with earth from Japan and the battlefields of China.
"The Japanese people ought to be proud of the spirit of Koa Kannon, which honors both the souls of enemies and allies," said Yasuo Nara, 76, a military historian.
But few Japanese trek to Koa Kannon and the enduring controversies about history have cost Japan dearly in terms of relations with its neighbors, even as the generation born after the war takes political power.
"It's difficult for young people to understand but it's important to send a message," said Tokutomi, who was a 19-year-old pilot in training when the war ended.
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