Ikego Middle Gate

Picture generated with AI
Location: Ofuna Prisoner-of-War Camp near Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Dates Active: 1192 to Present
Category: Burial Grounds, Haunting, Mysterious Sounds
Cause: Mass Burials and Prisoner of War Camp
Status: Ongoing
Entry ID: 021824B-00066

Summery: 

This gate has been a focal point of strange activity involving the spirits of samurai warriors and World War II soldiers.

In Depth:

Currently occupied by a U.S. Military Base, the area here has a sad history of deaths and suffering. Strange occurrences have been reported surrounding a gate here leading into the base, from the sound of footsteps to apparitions crawling along the ground.

Ikego was once attacked and seized sometime in 1333, and the villagers, especially the samurai who were tasked with defending the village, committed mass seppuku. Those that didn't were beheaded or burned alive. Mass burials are also located near here, with somewhere around 50 sites, which only adds to the tragedy this place has seen.

Then, during World War II, the Ofuna prisoner of war camp was built on the grounds. It mainly housed Chinese and Koreans, but also some American soldiers as well, notably the crews from the USS Tang, USS Perch, and the USS Sculpin. They mainly kept high-value enlisted men and officers to be interrogated by Japanese navel intelligence. It was never officially reported as a prisoner camp and the Red Cross was not allowed access, in violation of international agreements like the Geneva Convention.

The Ofuna camp has three gates: the main gate, the middle gate, and the back gate. The gates are still guarded to keep the general population out, however within their confines it is claimed that there are plenty of hauntings that seem to be experienced with some regularity.

It is the middle gate that seems to have the most strange activity, where people have claimed to experience a number of different supernatural phenomena. These include hearing voices, footsteps, a general feeling of uneasiness or being watched. Some claim that the apparition of a Japanese soldier in a brown military uniform from WWII crawling along the ground crying for help with apparent leg wounds can sometimes be seen here along the paths between the middle and back gates. Others claim to occasionally see the ghosts of samurai in the forests.

External Links (last checked March 30, 2024):

Ikego Middle Gate in Media:

  • Unbroken - Book by Laura Hillenbrand, about Louis Zamperini, who was once a prisoner at the Ofuna POW camp.

Related Entries and Connections:

Last Updated: March 30, 2024

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