Old execution grounds become popular place to tell someone 'I love you'

When taking big steps in relationships, like confessing your true feelings to a friend or asking someone to marry you, the setting is important. You want to set the mood, and getting the right atmosphere may mean the difference between delighted acceptance and “Where did that come from??”

Among some high school girls, this statue in Tokyo is considered a great place to take an amorous risk. It might not look like the most romantic place, located on a rather busy intersection and nestled between the NHK Broadcast Center, Shibuya Tax Office, and Amway Japan, and in fact this very spot is actually the memorial of a bloody attempt to overthrow the Japanese government. Nevertheless it is said to have a “supernatural” ability to create strong couples.

■ The 2-26 Incident

In February 1936, a group of about a 1,500 Japanese soldiers set out to assassinate key members of the government including Prime Minister Okada (photo below). They also planned to destroy targets such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Asahi Shimbun news office.

At the time, the army was divided by class between young soldiers who graduated from military high school and more privileged officers who could afford to go to military college. A particular group of young soldiers who called themselves the Gigun or “Righteous Army” felt that Japan was on the wrong course back to elitism largely because of a corrupt government influenced by Western powers. These young soldiers’ goal was to purge the country of it.

The coup was largely a failure, with PM Okada escaping after rebels mistakenly killed his brother-in-law instead. However, many others had died in the various gun-fights that ensued. After about four days the Gigun had surrendered and a few dozen of the masterminds were eventually sentenced to death by firing squad.

This all might not sound very romantic, but leave it to the imagination of high school students to come up with a way to make it so.

■ Ghosts and Schoolgirls

Because of its violence and tragedy the 2-26 Incident Monument in Shinjuku erected on the very site the conspirators were shot dead is said to be haunted. This is pretty standard fare for sites that have some connection to the events of February 26, much like the supposedly “haunted” Prime Minister’s residence that Shinzo Abe is rumored to be too scared to stay in.

Some say that around the elementary school up the street from the monument, the sound of men wearing heavy boots sprinting across the dirt and concrete can sometimes be heard. There are also numerous stories of ghost sightings at the NHK studios, particularly during broadcasts that deal with the 2-26 Incident.

However, if the movie "Ghost" has taught us one thing, it’s that the undead are really a bunch of big ol’ softies when it comes to romance. A notion among high school girls has arisen that because these ghosts are mostly of young soldiers who died during the 2-26 Incident they are highly sympathetic to young love and will use their supernatural powers to encourage it.

Furthermore, if you take the numbers 2-2-6 and pronounce them in Japanese just a certain way, you kind of get fu fu roku which sounds sort of like fūfu rokku or “[married] couple lock” in English. And in Japan, if you can get something to work into a number-based pun, forget about it. It might as well have been decreed by the gods.

So if you’re looking to pop the question or let that long-time friend know how you truly feel, it couldn’t hurt to do it at the 2-26 Incident Memorial. Failing that, you could always find a site near you where young people’s lives were cut short in the name of political ideology. Regardless of where you live, it shouldn’t be hard.

Source: Power Spot Institute

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