All historic sites
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417 sites · page 3 of 18
Kanoya Air Base Museum
鹿屋航空基地史料館
The principal Imperial Japanese Navy base for kamikaze sorties during the final months of WWII. Almost half of all naval kamikaze attacks departed from Kanoya between March and August 1945. The site is now a JMSDF air station with a museum housing over 5,500 artifacts.
Kasumigaura Naval Air Group
霞ヶ浦海軍航空隊
The birthplace of Japanese naval aviation, established in 1922 as the Imperial Japanese Navy's primary land-based flight training center on the shores of Lake Kasumigaura in Ibaraki Prefecture. The largest naval aviation training facility in Japan, it trained virtually every prominent IJN pilot of the interwar and wartime periods. The base hosted the Sempill Mission (1921–1922), received visits from the Graf Zeppelin and Charles Lindbergh, and served as home to the Naval Flight Preparatory Course (Yokaren) program from 1939. The site was bombed by U.S. carrier aircraft in February 1945. Today the former airfield is divided among JGSDF Camp Kasumigaura, Ibaraki University Faculty of Agriculture, and the Yokaren Peace Memorial Museum.
Kobe Air Raid Site
神戸大空襲跡
The site of devastating strategic bombing raids on Kobe, Japan's sixth-largest city and a major port and shipbuilding center. From January 1945 to the end of the war the Kobe area suffered some 128 air raids, large and small, with the two most destructive strikes on March 17 and June 5, 1945, collectively destroying 56% of the built-up area, killing about 7,500 civilians by the official count (over 8,000 by other estimates), and leaving more than 500,000 homeless.
Kokura Arsenal Ruins
小倉陸軍造兵廠跡
Site of the Kokura Army Arsenal (1916–1945), the largest munitions factory in southern Japan and the primary target for the Fat Man atomic bomb on August 9, 1945. Cloud cover and smoke from the previous night's firebombing of nearby Yawata forced the B-29 Bockscar to divert to its secondary target, Nagasaki — an event known as "the Luck of Kokura." The arsenal grounds now host Katsuyama Park, the Kitakyushu Central Library, and a peace memorial with the Nagasaki Bell.
Konoe Fumimaro's Tekigaiso Villa
荻外荘（近衞文麿旧宅）
Tekigaiso was the private residence of Prince Konoe Fumimaro, three-time Prime Minister of Japan, located in the quiet residential area of Ogikubo, Suginami Ward, Tokyo. Originally built in 1927 by architect Itō Chūta as a villa for Imperial physician Irisawa Tatsukichi, the estate was purchased by Konoe in 1937 and named 'Tekigaiso' by elder statesman Saionji Kinmochi. The villa served as a de facto second seat of government during Konoe's premierships. The 'Ogikubo Conference' of July 19, 1940, held here between Konoe, Tōjō Hideki, Matsuoka Yōsuke, and Yoshida Zengo, laid the groundwork for the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and the concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The 'Tekigaiso Conference' of October 12, 1941, where Tōjō refused any concession on withdrawing from China, led directly to Konoe's resignation and Tōjō's appointment as Prime Minister, setting Japan on an irreversible path to war with the United States. On December 16, 1945, Konoe took his own life by potassium cyanide in his study at Tekigaiso, the day he was to report to GHQ on war crimes charges. Designated a National Historic Site in 2016, the villa was restored by Suginami Ward and opened to the public in December 2024.
Kure Naval Arsenal
呉海軍工廠
One of the four major Imperial Japanese Navy arsenals and the birthplace of the battleship Yamato.
Kure Naval Base Air Raid Site
呉軍港空襲跡
Site of the devastating Allied air raids on Kure Naval Base from July 24-28, 1945, which destroyed most of the remaining Imperial Japanese Navy fleet at anchor. U.S. Third Fleet carrier aircraft sank the battleships Haruna, Hyūga, and Ise, the aircraft carrier Amagi, and the cruisers Tone, Aoba, Ōyodo, Iwate, and Izumo, while the British Pacific Fleet struck other targets around the Inland Sea — effectively eliminating Japan's surface fleet as a fighting force in one of the final major naval engagements of WWII.
Mabuni Hill (End of the Battle of Okinawa)
摩文仁の丘（沖縄戦終焉之地）
Mabuni Hill (摩文仁の丘), known to American forces as "Hill 89", is the coral limestone hill in Itoman City, Okinawa, where organized Japanese resistance in the Battle of Okinawa ended on 23 June 1945. At dawn that morning, 32nd Army Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Cho Isamu committed ritual suicide (jiketsu) at the mouth of the command post cave on the cliff face. Their deaths marked the formal end of 82 days of fighting that claimed an estimated 200,000 lives — nearly half of them Okinawan civilians. Today the hilltop and surrounding slopes form the heart of Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, with the Reimei Tower (黎明之塔, erected 1952) marking the suicide site, the Memorial Path lined with cenotaphs erected by many of Japan's prefectures, and numerous regimental and unit memorials dotting the hillside.
Maizuru Naval District Headquarters (JMSDF Maizuru District HQ)
舞鶴鎮守府跡（舞鶴地方総監部）
One of the Imperial Japanese Navy's four major naval districts (鎮守府), established on 1 October 1901 at Maizuru Bay on the Sea of Japan coast. The first commander was Vice Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, later the hero of Tsushima. Responsible for the Sea of Japan coast of Honshū (as of 1940, from Yamagata to Shimane Prefecture), the district was downgraded to a fortified port (要港部) in 1923 under the Washington Naval Treaty, restored to full naval district status in 1939, and served as a critical logistics, training, and coastal defense hub throughout the Pacific War. Now the headquarters of JMSDF Maizuru District (海上自衛隊舞鶴地方総監部), with several Meiji-era buildings preserved as Japan Heritage sites.
Maizuru Red Brick Park (Maizuru Red Brick Warehouses)
舞鶴赤れんがパーク（舞鶴赤レンガ倉庫群）
A complex of twelve red brick warehouses built between 1901 and 1921 for the Imperial Japanese Navy's Maizuru Naval District (Maizuru Chinjufu), used as munitions depots, torpedo stores, and arsenal warehouses. Eight of the twelve buildings were designated National Important Cultural Properties in 2008. Five warehouses were renovated and reopened in 2012 as Maizuru Red Brick Park, a tourism and cultural facility. The site is part of the Japan Heritage "Four Cities of Former Naval Ports" designation (2016), distinct from the nearby Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum which focuses on postwar repatriation rather than naval infrastructure.
Maizuru Repatriation Memorial Museum
舞鶴引揚記念館
A memorial museum in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, commemorating the 664,531 Japanese military personnel and civilians repatriated through the Port of Maizuru between 1945 and 1958, primarily from Soviet forced-labor camps in Siberia. In 2015, 570 items from its collection were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters
松代大本営地下壕
A massive underground bunker complex built in 1944-1945 beneath three mountains in Matsushiro, Nagano, intended to relocate Japan's Imperial government in the event of an Allied invasion.
Meiji Seimei Kan (GHQ Annex)
明治生命館（GHQ別館）
A masterpiece of Greek Revival architecture completed in 1934 in Marunouchi, Tokyo. Requisitioned by GHQ after WWII, the building served as the U.S. Far East Air Forces (FEAF) headquarters and hosted the Allied Council for Japan, where General MacArthur delivered his opening address in April 1946. Designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 1997 — the first Showa-era building to receive this honor.
Memorial Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims
原爆死没者慰霊碑
The Memorial Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims (formally the Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace) is an arch-shaped monument designed by Kenzo Tange and unveiled on August 6, 1952, in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. It shelters a stone chest containing the registry of all known atomic bomb victims’ names—344,306 as of August 2024—and bears the inscription: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil."
Memorial Ship Mikasa
記念艦三笠
The last surviving pre-dreadnought battleship in the world, preserved as a museum ship in Mikasa Park, Yokosuka. Built by Vickers in Britain and commissioned in 1902, Mikasa served as Admiral Togo Heihachiro's flagship during the decisive Battle of Tsushima (1905) in the Russo-Japanese War. Designated one of the "World's Three Great Memorial Warships" alongside HMS Victory and USS Constitution, Mikasa was enshrined in concrete in 1926 as a national memorial. During the 1930s–1940s the ship served as a potent symbol of Imperial Navy spirit and was central to Navy Day (May 27) commemorations that fueled wartime morale and militarist propaganda. After 1945 she was stripped of her superstructure and guns and for a time housed a cabaret and an aquarium; she was restored in 1961 with the support of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and the Japanese public.
Miike Coal Mines (Manda Pit)
三池炭鉱（万田坑）
One of Japan's largest coal mines, operated by Mitsui from 1889 to 1997. The Manda Pit, with Japan's largest vertical shafts, was a core production site from 1902 to 1951. During WWII, thousands of conscripted Korean civilians, Chinese forced laborers, and Allied POWs were compelled to work in the mines under brutal conditions. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015 as part of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution sites.
Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard
三菱長崎造船所
A major warship construction facility in Nagasaki that built battleships Musashi and numerous other warships.
Mitsubishi Nagoya Aircraft Works (Oe Plant)
三菱重工業名古屋航空機製作所（大江工場）
The primary design and manufacturing facility of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, where engineer Jiro Horikoshi led development of Japan's most iconic WWII combat aircraft.
Mitsubishi Nagoya Engine Works (Daiko Plant)
三菱重工業名古屋発動機製作所（大幸工場）
Japan's largest aero-engine production complex during WW2, located in Higashi Ward, Nagoya. Established on July 1, 1938, when the engine division was separated from the Mitsubishi Nagoya Aircraft Works (Oe Plant). The Daiko Plant produced over 40% of all Japanese aircraft engines — a staggering total of 48,996 powerplants including the Mitsubishi Kinsei (Venus), Kasei (Mars), and Zuisei (Auspicious Star) radial engines that powered fighters, bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft across both the Navy and Army. From December 13, 1944, to April 7, 1945, the plant was targeted in seven devastating B-29 precision bombing raids involving over 600 sorties and 1,700+ tons of ordnance, killing more than 2,600 factory workers, mobilized students, and volunteer corps members. The factory was completely destroyed. The site is now occupied by Vantelin Dome Nagoya (formerly Nagoya Dome), built in 1997 on the former factory grounds.
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park
長崎原爆落下中心地
The ground zero site of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, now a memorial park.
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
長崎原爆資料館
The principal museum documenting the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Opened in April 1996 to replace the aging Nagasaki International Culture Hall, the largely underground facility houses artifacts, photographs, and exhibits conveying the reality of nuclear destruction and advocating for lasting peace.
Nagasaki Peace Park (Peace Statue)
長崎平和公園（平和祈念像）
A memorial park in Nagasaki's Urakami district opened in 1950, centered on the iconic 9.7-meter bronze Peace Statue by sculptor Kitamura Seibō. The park commemorates the atomic bombing of August 9, 1945 and serves as a site for the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony, with international peace monuments donated by nations worldwide.
Nakajima Aircraft Musashino Factory
中島飛行機武蔵野工場
The largest aircraft engine factory in Japan, a primary target of American strategic bombing.
Nakajima Aircraft Ota Plant
中島飛行機太田製作所
The headquarters factory of Nakajima Aircraft Company — Japan's largest wartime aircraft manufacturer — located in Ota, Gunma Prefecture. Founded by Chikuhei Nakajima in 1917 as a modest research workshop, it grew into an industrial colossus producing iconic fighters including the Ki-43 Hayabusa, Ki-44 Shoki, Ki-84 Hayate, and Ki-49 Donryu heavy bomber. At peak wartime production the Ota complex employed over 100,000 workers. Targeted by seven major B-29 bombing raids between late 1944 and August 1945, the factory was devastated — the February 10, 1945 raid alone killed 152 people and destroyed the eastern half of the plant. After dissolution under Allied occupation, the company's legacy was reborn as Fuji Heavy Industries (1953), now SUBARU Corporation, whose Gunma Manufacturing Division Main Plant occupies the original site at Subaru-cho 1-1, Ota City.