300 Attend Ceremony to Remember Crew of Battleship Yamato; Participants Offer Flowers to Remember War Dead

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:35 JST, April 7, 2025

KURE, Hiroshima — About 300 people attended a memorial service Monday to remember the crew of the battleship Yamato, who died when the U.S. military attacked and sank the ship 80 years ago. The ceremony was held at the Imperial Navy Cemetery in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, where the ship was built.

The event was organized by a group who lost family members aboard the ship, as well as volunteers.

The attendees observed a moment of silence in memory of the crew and offered white chrysanthemums at a flower offering stand in front of a memorial monument.

Teiko Shigeki, 89, the eldest daughter of the ship’s navigating officer, Shiro Shigeki, then 39, came from Tobe, Ehime Prefecture, to attend the ceremony, joined by her sister and a relative.

“My father was very kind, even though he rarely came home,” she said. “I’m getting old, and this may be the last time I can attend the ceremony. I hope he is at peace.”