War Disaster Reconstruction Memorial Statue (Tennyo no Zo)

The War Disaster Reconstruction Memorial Statue, known as "Tennyo no Zo" (天女の像, Statue of the Celestial Maiden), stands in Toyama Castle Park (富山城址公園), beside the Matsukawa River (松川) in central Toyama City. It was erected on August 1, 1974 — the 29th anniversary of the Toyama Air Raid — by the Toyama Reconstruction Special Projects Council (富山復興特別事業協議会).

The statue was created to fulfill a dual purpose: to offer reverent prayers for the civilians who perished in the air raid — 2,275 according to the statue's inscription, with other counts running to about 2,700 — and the thousands more who were injured, and to commemorate the monumental achievement of Toyama's postwar reconstruction, which was accomplished through the determined efforts of the surviving citizenry.

The Matsukawa River, along which the statue stands, played a tragic role during the air raid itself. As the firestorm engulfed the city in the early hours of August 2, 1945, thousands of civilians fled toward the river seeking refuge from the flames. Eyewitness accounts describe desperate scenes of people plunging into the shallow water as incendiary bombs continued to rain down. Many perished along the riverbanks, and in the aftermath, hundreds of bodies were laid out along the Jinzu River shore for identification.

The statue is listed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省) nationwide survey of civilian war-dead memorial sites. Each year on August 1, the anniversary of the air raid, memorial ceremonies and a fireworks display are held along the Matsukawa and Jinzu rivers to honor the victims and express the desire for lasting peace. The fireworks originated in memorial observances for the victims sponsored by the Kitanippon Shimbun newspaper and have been an annual event since 1947.