Five Koreans may have been massacred immediately after the Great Kanto Earthquake; civic group investigates around Kuritadaya Junior High School in Yokohama, “thinking about discrimination issues”: Tokyo Shimbun TOKYO Web

Regarding the massacre of Koreans immediately after the Great Kanto Earthquake, the civic group “Facts of the Massacre of Koreans during the Great Kanto Earthquake” has revealed that five people are believed to have been killed by a vigilante group near what is now Yokohama Municipal Kuritadaya Junior High School (Kanagawa Ward). This was discovered through an investigation by the Kanagawa Executive Committee to learn about and commemorate the death of the deceased. At that time, the school had not yet been established, but president Sumiko Yamamoto (85) said, “I want citizens and students to learn about the incident that happened in their local area, and to think about the historical background and the issue of discrimination against Koreans.” ing. (Hiroyuki Abe)

Representative Yamamoto revealed that he had discovered a historical document titled “Matters related to crimes and protection status and other investigations related to Koreans and Chinese nationals following the earthquake” that the prefectural governor at the time of the earthquake addressed to the Director-General of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Security. It was included in a book co-edited with Kang Deok-sang, “Materials related to the Kanagawa Prefecture Great Kanto Earthquake and the Korean Massacre” (Sanichi Shobo), published last September. Based on this information, the association is working to identify the crime scene and uncover the truth by comparing it with maps from the time and eyewitness testimony from civilians.

Historical documents state that between noon and 3 p.m. on September 2, 1923, the day after the earthquake, “Aoki-cho 1349 Matsumoto,” “Kanagawa Aoki-cho 1130 Kuritadani,” and “Aoki-cho Hiro It is recorded that at three locations in “Beijing 1122,” the people, who had mistakenly believed rumors such as a Korean riot, were driven by fear and anxiety and killed a total of five Korean men.

Maps from the year before the earthquake revealed that both sites were within a 200-meter radius of the current Kuritaya Junior High School, which is located on high ground. The Yokohama City Earthquake Report states that a large number of people evacuated to vacant lots in the vicinity, and diaries of several civilians record scenes of wary citizens chasing Koreans with Japanese swords and bamboo spears. Therefore, it was determined that the description in the historical documents was supported.

On the 13th of this month, the association held fieldwork at the site of the Korean massacre in Kanagawa Ward, with 33 participants including citizens and researchers. In addition to the area around Kuritaya Junior High School, the Keihin Port Dock (Yamanouchi Town) operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, where approximately 100 Koreans are said to have been involved in construction before the earthquake, and the Yokohama Port Airport Engineering Site, which is said to be the site of the massacre of Koreans. I also visited the area near the investigation office (Hashimoto Town).

On the premises of the investigation office, historical documents reported that the Korean workers’ quarters at the Keihin Port dock were attacked by the people after the earthquake, and 42 people were killed, including the other quarters. According to Representative Yamamoto, the Koreans who escaped the massacre were taken to the cargo ship Kazan Maru, then transferred to a Japanese military facility in Yokosuka, where they were put to work cleaning up after the earthquake. He explained to the participants, “From the list of detainees, we found the names, birthplaces, and pre-earthquake addresses of 10 people,” and mentioned the need to share information with the South Korean side for further clarification.

Mayumi Komiya (72), a former teacher from Konan Ward, said, “The massacre of Koreans in Yokohama is largely unknown because it was covered up for many years, and I was impressed by the group’s activities.” Regarding the Great Kanto Earthquake, “There is a tendency to like beautiful stories about Japanese people, but it is important that we don’t take our eyes off the facts of the genocide and tell the story.”