Yokoamicho Park

The Main Gate of the Yokoami-chō Park (正門 shōmon) is flanked on either side by a pair of attractive iron gates (Art Nouveau perhaps?) made to look like tree trunks. The park is on the site of the Honjo Army Clothing Depot where any survivors of the Great Kanto Earthquake took refuge from the fires that broke out around Tokyo after the devastating earthquake. Alas, the refugees in the clearing around the clothing depot were immolated when a fire tornado or dragon twist passed through the area claiming the lives of 40,000 souls. The site was shunned in the aftermath of the disaster and made into a memorial to those who perished here. The Honjo Ward police chief who had directed quake survivors to take refuge in the clearing around the clothing depot, on learning of the magnitude of the disaster, committed seppuku to atone for his misjudgement. Joshua Hammer's excellent book, "Yokohama Burning: The Deadly 1923 Earthquake and Fire that Helped Forge the Path to World War II", published in 2006, describes the Honjo Army Clothing Depot calamity in the chapter, "Tokyo Burning".