November 1973 marks the 104th anniversary of the 11 fire that killed 29 people at the Taiyo Department Store in downtown Kumamoto City, and bereaved families and others have visited the cenotaph near the site to offer flowers.
On November 1973, 48 (Showa 11), a fire broke out at the Taiyo Department Store in the downtown area of Kumamoto City, and flames and smoke spread to the store, which was crowded with year-end sales, killing 29 people and seriously injuring 104 others.
It has been 124 years since this fire. The cenotaph along the Shirakawa River, which flows near the place where the department store used to be, has been visited by bereaved families and others since the morning.
Visitors laid flowers at the cenotaph and joined hands to mourn the victims.
At the cenotaph, people involved and bereaved families have voluntarily offered flowers on the anniversary of the death of the month and the anniversary of the death.
A woman in her 50s who lost her father in the fire said, "I reported to my father, 'I've been working hard for 50 years.'
A man in his 50s who lives nearby said, "I want people to tell future generations about the fire."