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Unreported but not unrepentant; Kanagawa mourns the lost Chinese of Sagami-ko

« H E Sino-Japanese :: Human rights and personal freedoms :: News and Perspectives :: email
posted Thursday, 20 July 2006

For 364 1/2 days of the year, man-made 相模湖 (Sagami lake), Kanagawa Prefecture, is a reservoir and a scenic beauty spot some 50 KM out from central Yokohama, but for one evening each year it becomes a memorial shrine to the men who were forced to create it, men who include Korean slave laborers and some 300 Chinese prisoners of war.

Each year, at a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and dignitaries from China, the two Koreas, and Japan, junior high school students began a night of reflection, poetry and prayer by lighting three candles, one for each nation; dedicating the ceremony to the memories of those who suffered at Sagami-ko and the hope that, through the remembrance of history, future suffering can be prevented.


Guests offering prayers and reflection, for those who suffered, at the Sagami-ko memorial ceremony.

Poetry and Reflection at the Sagami-ko memorial ceremony.

Though little known outside of Japan, the Sagami memorial ceremony represents one of many that is carried out across the country each year to remember the Chinese and Korean men and women who were used as slaves during and prior to WWII, during which both Japan's old and young make take the time to make dignified reflection on what is arguably one of the most shameful periods in Japan's history.

Sagami-ko

Sagami lake is one of Japan's larges man-made bodies of water. Work on the lake commenced in 1940 but the scale of the program, not to mention the Asian Pacific campaign of WWII, meant that it was not completed until 1947, two years after the end of the war.
Over the breadth of its construction period,
approximately 3.6 million workers were involved
in creating with Sagami lake. It is believed
that between 80 and 90 laborers
(both foreign and domestic) died through
maltreatment and accidents during during
the lake's construction, while a great
many more were injured or otherwise
debilitated by harsh working conditions.

Sagami-ko, the sight of forced labor during WWII.

Although some elements of the Chinese media do occasionally acknowledge that the Sagami-ko memorial ceremony, and others like it, do occur each year in Japan, it is almost unknown for them to accept them as a sign of remorse or historical reflection.

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View Comments/Add a Comment (4)


1. China Law Blog left...
Thursday, 20 July 2006 1:59 pm

Nice post. I was completely unaware of this sort of thing happening in Japan. This will cause me to adjust my thinking a bit.


2. The Humanaught left...
Thursday, 20 July 2006 10:08 pm :: http://www.thehumanaught.com/blog

Hey ACB, nice post. I've heard about the Sagami-ko memorial before, but it's nice to get a little more in depth about it and also see some pictures.

It'd be good for those in the Mainland to recognize this, what amounts to public admitance of wrong doing during the war...

It's been Hao'd at The Hao Hao Report (http://hhr.lostlaowai.com)


3. Sarah left...
Friday, 21 July 2006 4:59 am

Makes me think there may be hope for the world to heal after all....it's a beautiful site and a beautiful sight!


4. ACB left...
Sunday, 23 July 2006 4:23 pm

This kind of thing is actually a lot more common than most people believe.

There are also a lot of personal acts similar to this (though lessening as the veterans involved lessen in numbers). Every years, many Japanese veterans and their families travel to places like Nanjing and Beijing to pay their respects. a few famous people like Shiro Azuma make the news in China, but most ar ignored.