Japanese Cemetery Park was established in 1891, long before the Japanese invasion.
It was originally created largely for the karayuki-san—Japanese women who had travelled overseas and worked as prostitutes. Many lived extremely difficult lives and died poor or without family in Singapore. The cemetery subsequently became the burial place for Japanese merchants, businessmen and other members of Singapore's Japanese community.
So the cemetery is actually more Victorian/Meiji-era Japanese Singapore than WW2 Singapore.
Connection to WW2
After Japan conquered Singapore in February 1942, the cemetery came under Japanese control.
Japanese military casualties from the Malaya campaign and Battle of Singapore were subsequently commemorated here. Thousands of Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen were cremated, with their ashes eventually being placed here.
A particularly interesting connection is with Bukit Batok.
The Japanese built the Syonan Chureito memorial there in 1942 to honour their dead from the campaign. It was a large wooden memorial tower, with ashes of Japanese soldiers killed during the fighting at Bukit Timah kept in a shrine behind it.
When Japan was about to surrender in 1945, the Japanese destroyed the Syonan Chureito themselves. The ashes were subsequently transferred to the Japanese Cemetery Park.
However, this was not the end of the Japanese dead. The cemetery also contains the remains of 135 Japanese war criminals who were executed at Changi Prison after WWII.
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| Terauchi memorial |
Field Marshal Count Hisaichi Terauchi
One of the most historically significant people associated with the cemetery is Field Marshal Count Hisaichi Terauchi.
He was the commander of the Japanese Southern Army, essentially the senior Japanese commander responsible for the conquest of Southeast Asia.
His headquarters were in Singapore during the early Occupation.
He did not personally attend the Japanese surrender ceremony in Singapore because he was already seriously ill. After the war he was placed under investigation for war crimes and died in Johor Bahru in 1946. Some of his ashes were subsequently interred at the cemetery.
His grave is in a relatively quiet corner of the cemetery.
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