Sad History of Fish Cemetery

Memorial of the tuna fish at Yumenoshima Park,

Koto-ku, Tokyo

Everybody seems to be excited about the famous Tokyo fish market coming to Koto city this year from Tsukiji. Only a few people know that there is also a fish cemetery in Tsukiji: Cemetery of contaminated tuna fish, which had to be disposed of after being exposed to radiation from a hydrogen bomb test in the 1950s.


The fishing boat called Fukuryu-maru was on the Pacific Ocean near the Bikini Atoll of the Marshall Islands, when the United States carried out the H-bomb test on May 1st, 1954.

All the 23 crew members aboard were exposed to deadly ash from the nuclear test and suffered severe burn. One of them died of acute radiation disease after six months. Many of the others have died because of cancers.

The ship was left disposed of at a landfill in Koto city. In 1976, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government built a museum of the ship, in order not to forget, or repeat, the tragedy of the Fukuryu-maru.

Daigo Fukuryu-maru at the
 memorial museum

The deadly H-bomb ash fell not only on the Fukuryu-maru, but also on many other fishing boats, their crew members and catches. The fish could not be sold. Some 485 tons of such fish were buried deep under the Tsukiji fish market.

A memorial to commemorate the fish was placed, but not in Tsukiji for some reasons, but in Koto city along with the Fukuryu-maru museum. People are still calling for the fish memorial to be placed at Tsukiji.

The museum have displays of the Fukuryu-maru's body, samples of the deadly ash, crew members' diaries and letters, documents about the suffering of the people of the Marshall Islands, and more.

Now it has renewed attention following recent world events.

The "deadly ash" collected
fromFukuryu-maru. 27
radioactiveelements were
detected.

 
One of the crew members, Misaki Yoshio, predicted in his note while he was in hospital: "As long as the Earth exists, and as long as humankind is there, greediness of humankind will last. And tears will be shed.”

Was he right?

High school students donated
thousands of paper cranes,
wishing for nuclear-free world.

 
No.5 Fukuryu-maru Exhibition Hall:
Yumenoshima 3-2, Koto-ku, Tokyo. 10 minutes walk from Shinkiba station of JR Keiyo Line or Yurakucho Line of Tokyo Metro(Y-24)
Open 9:30 am to 4:00 pm
Closed every Monday, or Tuesday when Monday falls on a holiday
Admission free
English leaflet and some English explanation available.

 by Seiko