Ukishima Maru Victims Memorial

The Ukishima Maru Victims Memorial (浮島丸殉難の碑) stands on a hillside in the Shimo-Sabaka district of Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture, overlooking the waters of Maizuru Bay where the tragedy occurred. The monument was erected on August 24, 1978 — the 33rd anniversary of the incident — through donations from Maizuru citizens and municipal funding. Annual memorial services for the victims have been held since 1954.

The Ukishima Maru was a 4,730-ton Japanese Navy transport ship, originally completed in 1937 as a cargo-passenger liner for Osaka Shosen (O.S.K. Line) and requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Navy in September 1941. On the evening of August 22, 1945 — one week after Japan's surrender — the ship departed Ominato Naval Base in Aomori Prefecture, ostensibly bound for Busan, Korea, to repatriate approximately 3,735 Korean laborers and their families who had been conscripted to build military fortifications on the Shimokita Peninsula.

Instead of sailing directly to Korea, the Ukishima Maru inexplicably diverted to Maizuru. At approximately 5:20 PM on August 24, 1945, the ship exploded and sank roughly 300 meters offshore in Maizuru Bay. The official Japanese death toll stands at 549 — comprising 524 Korean passengers and 25 Japanese crew members — though Korean sources have disputed this figure, claiming the actual number of deaths may have been far higher, with estimates ranging from 3,000 to over 6,000.

The cause of the explosion has never been definitively established and remains one of the enduring controversies of the immediate postwar period. The Japanese government maintained that the Ukishima Maru struck an American naval mine. However, many Korean survivors and researchers have argued that the explosion was a deliberate act of sabotage — that the Japanese military intentionally scuttled the ship rather than allow the Korean laborers to return home with knowledge of Japan's secret military installations. The diversion from the direct route to Busan has been cited as evidence supporting this theory.

In 1992, Korean survivors and bereaved families filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government. In 2001, the Kyoto District Court ordered compensation but rejected demands for a formal apology and the return of victims' remains. This ruling was overturned on appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the reversal in 2004. As of recent years, the remains of approximately 280 victims are still held at Yutenji Temple in Tokyo, a persistent source of grief for Korean families.

The memorial park at Shimo-Sabaka serves as a solemn reminder of one of the first post-surrender tragedies. Each year on August 24, Japanese and Korean citizens gather at the monument to offer prayers and renew their commitment to peace and reconciliation.