Pacific War National War-Damaged Cities Air Raid Dead Memorial Tower
The following memorial inscription is engraved on the back of the antechamber.
The brutal Pacific War came to an end with Japan's unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945. For approximately 7 years after that, Japan was under the occupation of the Allied forces, but with the coming into force of the San Francisco Peace Treaty on April 28, 1952, Japan was finally able to regain its national sovereignty.
Accordingly, the government did establish ways to pay respects to the military personnel who died as victims of the war and to offer condolences to their families, but it paid no attention to the many innocent civilians who, without any protection whatsoever, met untimely deaths in the shameless air raids. The National League of War-Damaged Cities, which was formed in January 1947 to bring together 113 cities across Japan that had been reduced to ruins after suffering the unprecedented devastation of war, has devoted its efforts since its formation to war-damage reconstruction. However, rather than limiting itself to superficial reconstruction, the league also sought to commemorate those who died in the air raids of war-damaged cities that had been overlooked by government policy. At its 10th regular general meeting in Fukui City on May 17, 1952, it was resolved to erect a National Memorial Tower for the Pacific War Air Raid Victims of War-Damaged Cities, and it was unanimously decided that the site for the tower should be Himeji City, the birthplace of the National League of War-Damaged Cities and the location of its headquarters.
Once this project was announced to the public, it aroused an outpouring of sympathy among the nation, and large sums of money were donated in large quantities from every city and from elementary school children, middle school and high school students, women's groups, and people of all walks of life and professions. Therefore, this memorial tower is the crystallization of the sincere feelings of respect and mourning expressed by the entire nation.
Its significance lies in its role as a resting place where the souls of the unfortunate victims of the air raids during the Pacific War can rest in the warm embrace of brotherhood, and as a monument that teaches the tragic truth of war.Furthermore, it serves to convey to future generations that war is a tragedy that befalls both the living and the dead, that a country is destroyed and even though mountains and rivers remain, it leaves such devastation and that recovery is such a difficult and painful endeavor, and to teach that all living beings, regardless of whether they are from the East or the West, should come together strongly to do their utmost to prevent war.It was erected with the hope that the voices of those who visit this memorial will resonate and spread as prayers for peace to every corner of the world.
1956
