Uragashira Repatriation Memorial Peace Park

Uragashira Repatriation Memorial Peace Park stands on the southeastern shore of Sasebo Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture, at the exact spot where returning Japanese soldiers and civilians first set foot on home soil after World War II. In September 1945, following Japan's surrender, the Japanese government designated Sasebo Port as one of the nation's official repatriation reception points, and the Sasebo Repatriation Relief Bureau was established, with its quarantine station at Uragashira and its main office at the former Hario Naval Barracks about 7 kilometers away.

Between October 1945 and April 1950, a total of 1,216 repatriation ships entered Sasebo Port, bringing home approximately 1,396,468 people — comprising 758,879 civilians, 613,411 army personnel, and 24,178 naval personnel. These repatriates came primarily from mainland China, Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asia. Many arrived exhausted, malnourished, and carrying nothing but the clothes on their backs after surviving the chaos of Japan's collapsing wartime empire.

The memorial park opened on May 3, 1986, funded by about 100 million yen in donations from former repatriates and others together with about 250 million yen of city funds, fulfilling a wish for lasting peace. At its center stands a memorial museum housing some 300 artifacts from the repatriation era, including period clothing, personal diaries, currency, backpacks, repatriation certificates, military handbooks, poetry written in shelters, and DDT disinfection equipment used to process returning civilians. The exhibits vividly convey the hardships of displacement and the emotional journey home.

In January 2000, a monument inscribed with the lyrics of "Kaeri-bune" (Homecoming Ship), a song performed by Yoshio Tabata that became an anthem for repatriates, was erected in the park grounds. The park overlooks Uragashira Bay, offering visitors a panoramic view of the waters through which so many ships once sailed carrying their human cargo home.

Sasebo itself holds deep significance in Japanese naval history as one of the four Imperial Japanese Navy Districts (鎮守府), established in 1889. The city's military port infrastructure made it a natural choice as a repatriation hub. Today, the park and museum serve as a place of remembrance and peace education, reminding visitors of the massive human displacement caused by Japan's wartime expansion and the long journey home that followed defeat.