National Air Raid Victims Memorial Tower & Himeji Peace Museum

The Pacific War National War-Damaged Cities Air Raid Victims Memorial Tower (太平洋戦全国戦災都市空爆死没者慰霊塔) stands at the summit of Mount Tegara (手柄山), a hill near the center of Himeji city. Erected on October 26, 1956, the 26.75-meter tower is the only national-level monument in Japan dedicated to commemorating all civilian victims of strategic bombing across the country.

The tower's design symbolizes peace through the image of a sword thrust into the earth — the sheathing of weapons. At its base, a large relief map of Japan is embedded in the ground, with 113 war-damaged cities marked by circular stones. Surrounding pillars are inscribed with each city's name, the dates of its air raids, and the number of casualties — creating a sobering nationwide register of aerial bombardment.

Himeji was chosen as the site for this national memorial because the city was the founding member and driving force behind the National League of War-Damaged Cities (全国戦災都市連盟), established in 1947 to advocate for reconstruction aid and the memorialization of civilian war dead. The league was founded on the initiative of Himeji mayor Ishimi Motohide, who led the effort to construct this tower with contributions from all 113 member cities.

The adjacent Himeji City Peace Museum (姫路市平和資料館), located within Tegarayama Peace Park, preserves artifacts, photographs, and survivor testimonies from the two devastating air raids that struck Himeji in 1945:

• June 22, 1945: Some 50 to 60 B-29s (52 according to U.S. mission records) targeted the Kawanishi Aircraft Company Himeji Works (川西航空機姫路製作所), an important military aircraft factory. The raid lasted about one hour, dropping roughly 350 tons of bombs and killing 341 people.
• July 3-4, 1945: In a massive nighttime incendiary raid, B-29 bombers saturated the city center with firebombs, killing 173 people, destroying over 10,300 buildings, and leaving 45,182 homeless. Over 63% of the built-up area was burned.

The museum's collection includes melted glass, warped metal, charred personal belongings, and oral history recordings from survivors who experienced the firestorm. A memorial and peace-prayer ceremony is held at the tower every year on October 26, the anniversary of its completion.

The memorial complex serves a dual purpose: honoring Himeji's own war dead while standing as a national place of mourning for all Japanese cities devastated by strategic bombing — from Tokyo's March 10 firebombing to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.