is a public park in the Yokoami district of

Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

, Japan.

History

Following the

Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

on 1 September 1923, as many as 44,000 people were killed in the park when it was swept by a

firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

. Following this disaster the park became the location of the main memorial to the earthquake; the Earthquake Memorial Hall and a nearby

charnel house A charnel house is a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. They are often built near churches for depositing bones that are unearthed while digging graves. The term can also be used more generally as a description of a plac ...

containing the ashes of 58,000 victims of the earthquake.Karacas (2010), p. 522 Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the park also became the location of the main memorial to the victims of the

Bombing of Tokyo The was a series of air raids on Japan by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), primarily launched during the closing campaigns of the Pacific War, Pacific Theatre of World War II in 1944–1945, prior to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima ...

in 1944 and 1945. The ashes of 105,400 people killed in the raids were interred in Yokoamichō Park between 1948 and 1951.Karacas (2010), p. 523 A memorial to the people killed in the raids was opened in the park in March 2001.Karacas (2010), p. 521 Every year since 1974, the has held a memorial ceremony in the park in memory of the victims of the

Kantō Massacre The was a mass murder in the Kantō region of Japan committed in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. With the explicit and implicit approval of parts of the Japanese government, the Japanese military, police, and vigilantes mu ...

, which targeted Korean and Chinese people in the region. However, the memorial ceremony is regularly met with counter protests, especially by the organization . For example, in 2020, the group displayed a sign reading "The massacre of Koreans is a lie". This has resulted in violence on some occasions, including in 2019. For the ceremony on 1 September 2020, 700 police officers were stationed in the park, and no violent incidents occurred. In 2022, it was reported that the then Governor of Tokyo

Yuriko Koike Yuriko Koike (小池百合子, Koike Yuriko; born 15 July 1952) is a Japanese politician who has served as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. Previously, she was also served as a member of the House of Councillors from 1992 to 1993, a member o ...

had controversially declined to send a commemorative message for the sixth year in a row.

Notes

References

External links

* * – Park Guide (in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Yokoamichō Park Parks and gardens in Tokyo Sumida, Tokyo 1930 establishments in Japan Kantō Massacre