Tokyo Earthquake Memorial

A massive earthquake hit Tokyo and destroyed most of the city in 1923. More than a hundred of thousand people were killed and innumerable number of people lost their homes and relatives.

The damage was the most disastrous in downtown Tokyo, especially in the east of Sumida river. As big open spaces were rare in this area, dozens of thousand people sought refuge into the ground of the military facility called Honjo Hifukusho carrying household stuffs with them. When the ground was packed with these people, a fiery blaze struck them and burned about 38000 people to death.

Tokyo Earthquake Memorial was founded in 1930 to commemorate the victims of the disaster and to house the remains of dead people who could not be identified.

Tokyo was hit again by another disaster caused by US air raid during the Pacific war. The air raid on mar.10/1945 destroyed most of the city and killed no less than a hundred of thousand people in one night.

After the war, the Tokyo Earthquake Memorial commemorated the victims of the air raid and changed its name to Tokyo Memorial. Since then until today, memorial ceremonies have been held here twice each year, one on Sep.1 for the victims of the great earthquake, another on Mar.10 for them of the great air raid.