Yokoamichō Park

photo by Nick-D · CC BY-SA 3.0

In the central hall lie 58,000 remains: victims of 1923 and of the 1945 bombing

On 10 March and 1 September, the victims' families gather in front of the Memorial Hall (慰霊堂, the hall that keeps the ashes) for the annual ceremony. Inside, an urn holds the remains of 58,000 people: those who died in the fire after the 1923 earthquake and those who died in the bombing of 10 March 1945. Since 1973 the park has also been home to a monument to the Korean victims of 1923.

The park was created in 1930 on the site of a former army clothing depot, where on 1 September 1923 about 40,000 people displaced by the Kantō earthquake had taken refuge: a fire whirlwind engulfed them and killed about 38,000 in a few hours. Today the Memorial Hall holds the ashes of 58,000 victims of the earthquake, to which those of the great Tokyo bombing were added after 10 March 1945. Next to it stands the Reconstruction Museum (復興記念館), in the original 1931 building, with artefacts from both tragedies.

ℹ️ The park is always open and free; the Memorial Hall and the museum, on the other hand, open 9:00–16:30, closed on Mondays. Two minutes on foot from Ryōgoku station (Ōedo line), ten from the JR station. No car park.

🚉 Ryogoku · 5 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org

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