Yokoamicho Park
Encyclopedia
is a public park in the Yokoami district of Sumida, Tokyo
, Japan.
on 1 September 1923, as many as 44,000 people were killed in the park when it was swept by a firestorm
. Following this disaster the park became the location of the main memorial to the earthquake; the Earthquake Memorial Hall and a nearby charnel house
containing the ashes of 58,000 victims of the earthquake.
Following World War II
, the park also became the location of the main memorial to the victims of the Bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945. The ashes of 105,400 people killed in the raids were interred in Yokoamicho Park between 1948 and 1951. A memorial to the people killed in the raids was opened in the park in March 2001.
Sumida, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It calls itself Sumida City in English.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 240,296 and a density of 17,480 persons per km²...
, Japan.
History
Following the Great Kantō earthquake1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
on 1 September 1923, as many as 44,000 people were killed in the park when it was swept by a firestorm
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, forest fires, and wildfires...
. Following this disaster the park became the location of the main memorial to the earthquake; the Earthquake Memorial Hall and a nearby charnel house
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...
containing the ashes of 58,000 victims of the earthquake.
Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the park also became the location of the main memorial to the victims of the Bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945. The ashes of 105,400 people killed in the raids were interred in Yokoamicho Park between 1948 and 1951. A memorial to the people killed in the raids was opened in the park in March 2001.