are chiefly located in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

and at the former

treaty port Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. ...

s of

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, and

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

. They contain the mortal remains of long-term Japan residents or other foreigners who died in Japan, and are separate from any of the military cemeteries.

Hakodate

The

Foreign Cemetery, located in the Motomachi district, is just below Mt. Hakodate and over the coastal beach. The cemetery is divided into national and cultural sections; different local associations are responsible for the maintenance of each section. All graves face the ocean. They include the graves of two mariners from the fleet of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry.

Kobe

Kobe originally had two foreign cemeteries. One, Onohama, located in the foreign settlement, the other located in Kasugano. In the early 1950s, the Kobe City Government began relocating all foreigners' graves to a new Foreigners' Cemetery, the Kobe Municipal Foreign Cemetery ( 神戸市立外国人墓地), in Futatabi Park in the hills high above the city. This was completed in 1962. Mount Futatabi, in a pleasant woodland location, has the graves of many long-term residents, including

Alexander Cameron Sim Alexander Cameron Sim (28 August 1840 – 28 November 1900) was a British-born pharmacist and entrepreneur active in Japan during the Meiji period. He was also the founder of the Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club. Biography Sim was born in Aberlo ...

. James Joseph Enslie a long serving British Consular Officer in Kobe has a large grave in the cemetery. George French, the Chief Justice of the

British Supreme Court for China and Japan The British Supreme Court for China (originally the British Supreme Court for China and Japan) was a court established in the Shanghai International Settlement to try cases against British subjects in China, Japan and Korea under the principles o ...

was buried in Onohama in 1881.

Nagasaki

has three main international cemeteries: 1) Inasa International Cemetery, which is the oldest foreign cemetery in Japan and consists of separate plots for Chinese, Dutch and Russian people; 2) Oura International Cemetery, which was established in the early 1860s near the site of the

Nagasaki foreign settlement The Nagasaki foreign settlement (長崎居留地), sometimes called the Oura foreign settlement (大浦居留地), was an area in Nagasaki, Japan, settled by foreigners as Japan opened its doors to Western trade. The area was established by treat ...

and served the foreign community until being closed in 1888; and 3)

Sakamoto International Cemetery The is located in Sakamoto in the Urakami area of the city of Nagasaki, Japan. The cemetery for foreigners was established following the 1888 closure of an earlier burial ground near the international quarter of the city. It is administered by ...

, which has some 440 graves including that of Scottish merchant Thomas Blake Glover.

Naha

There is a foreign cemetery in Naha, Okinawa. The earliest graves are of Chinese sailors. Several contemporaries of Matthew C. Perry are buried there.

Shimoda

Four members of American Commodore

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series '' St ...

's flotilla are buried in the cemetery of the small Buddhist temple of

Gyokusen-ji is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is noteworthy in that it served as the first American consulate in Japan. The temple and its grounds were designated as a National Historic Site of Japan in 19 ...

that served as the first America

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth co ...

in Japan. Another American and three Russians were also buried there in the 1850s.

Tokyo

The

foreign cemetery is a section of the

Aoyama Cemetery is a cemetery in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The cemetery is also famous for its cherry blossoms, and at the season of hanami, which many people would visit. History The cemetery was origi ...

Aoyama, Tokyo is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Tokyo, located in the northwest portion of Minato Ward. The area is well known for its international fashion houses, cafes and restaurants. or "North Aoyama" refers to the area on the north side of A ...

. By 2005 it was under threat from the city's bureaucracy, which threatened to remove graves for which fees had not been paid by families of the deceased. The Foreign Section Trust was formed to campaign to preserve the foreign part of the cemetery. Eventually the situation was rectified and the foreign section is now a protected monument, commemorating the men and women who helped build Japan in the late 19th century. These are the graves of expatriates from the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, men and women who promoted Western ideas and practices in Japan—doctors, educators, missionaries, and artists. Many of them were

o-yatoi gaikokujin The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' ( Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: , "hired foreigners"), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in th ...

. Famous non-Japanese buried there include the British minister plenipotentiary Hugh Fraser who died in the post in 1894, Captain

Francis Brinkley Francis Brinkley (30 December 1841 – 12 October 1912) was an Anglo-Irish newspaper owner, editor and scholar who resided in Meiji period Japan for over 40 years, where he was the author of numerous books on Japanese culture, art and architect ...

, Guido Verbeck, Henry Spencer Palmer, Edoardo Chiossone, Joseph Heco,

Edwin Dun Edwin Dun (June 19, 1848 – May 15, 1931) was a rancher from Ohio who was employed as an '' o-yatoi gaikokujin'' in Hokkaidō by the Hokkaidō Development Commission (''Kaitakushi'') and advised the Japanese government on modernizing agri ...

, , and several others.

Yokohama

Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery

The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery, located in

Yamate is the name of a historic neighbourhood in Naka-ku, Yokohama often referred to in English as ''The Bluff.'' The neighbourhood is famous as having been a foreigners' residential area in the Bakumatsu, Meiji and Taishō periods. While still domi ...

Naka-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. In 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 146,563 and a population density of 7,080 persons per km². The total area was 20.86 km². Geography Naka Ward ...

, includes among many others the grave of

Charles Lennox Richardson Charles Lennox Richardson (16 April 1834 – 14 September 1862) was a British merchant based in Shanghai who was killed in Japan during the Namamugi Incident. His middle name is spelled ''Lenox'' in census and family documents. Merchant Richards ...

, murdered in the Namamugi Incident in September 1862, John Wilson, and that of

Charles Wirgman Charles Wirgman (31 August 1832 - 8 February 1891) was an English artist and cartoonist, the creator of the ''Japan Punch'' and illustrator in China and Meiji period-Japan for the ''Illustrated London News''. Wirgman was the eldest son of Ferdi ...

Ludovicus Stornebrink Ludovicus Stornebrink (sometimes written as ''Ludowicus'' and also known as ''Louis Stornebrink''), was the founder of the Yokohama Ice Works in Yokohama, Japan. Stornebrink was born on 15 March 1847 in Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''T ...

, and

John Carey Hall John Carey Hall (22 January 1844 – 21 October 1921) was a leading British diplomat who served in Japan in the 19th and early 20th centuries. His last position was as British Consul-General in Yokohama. Early life Hall was born on 22 January 18 ...

. The French military advisors of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

François Bouffier François Bouffier (1844–1881) was a French non-commissioned officer of the 19th century, a sergeant of the 8th Battalion of infantrymen. He was a member of the first French Military Mission to Japan in 1867, in which he accompanied Jules Brunet ...

Jean Marlin Jean Marlin (1833–1872) was a non-commissioned officer, a sergeant of the French 8th Battalion of infantry. He was a member of the first French military mission to Japan in 1867, in which he accompanied Jules Brunet. He worked as an instructor ...

, and Auguste Pradier are also buried there. First used as a burial ground for non native Japanese in February 1854, when American Marine, Private Robert Williams was interred after a short Christian burial service conducted by Rev. George Jones. The cemetery was formally dedicated by Bishop Charles Alford on Advent Sunday, 29 November 1868. The current cemetery consists of 22 sections in an area of 18,500 square meters. In 1864, a memorandum for the foreign settlement at Yokohama was signed by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

with the legations of the main trading nations permitting the extension of the cemetery area to the top of the Bluff opposite the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

Christ Church. On the weekends of the spring, summer and fall (from noon to 4:00 p.m.), the cemetery is open to the public for a small donation to help with the upkeep of the premises. Visitors receive a small pamphlet with a guide to graves of interest, and they can also view a museum at the site. These events are organized by the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery Foundation which is responsible for the upkeep and general maintenance of the cemetery.

Negishi Foreign Cemetery

There is another section near Yamate Station on the Keihin-Tōhoku Line, called "Negishi Foreign Cemetery". It was established in 1880, but first used in 1902. Many of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake victims were buried there.

Yokohama War Cemetery

Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama is also home to the Yokohama War Cemetery, the only military cemetery in Japan administered by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

. The cemetery contains the graves of 1,555 service personnel from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

who died in conflict, prisoners of war and service personnel from the post-war occupation period. The war graves themselves are split up according to nationality with sections for British, Australia/New Zealand as well as Indian graves.

Nanjing Cemetery

Yokohama also has a Chinese cemetery near Negishi Park, called "Nanjing Cemetery". It was used to store the remains of Chinese from China town before being sent back to the mainland.

References

External links

The Foreign Section Trust
- formed in 2005 to preserve the foreign section of Aoyama cemetery in Tokyo.

- Asahi Shimbun, October 20, 2005
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery Foundation
- Foundation formed in 1900 to maintain the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Cemeteries In Japan * Cemeteries in Japan