Hitachi Aircraft Company WWII memorial

A battle-scarred building stands, alone and unoccupied, in a peaceful park just north of Tamagawajosui Station in Tokyo’s Tachikawa Ward. Disused since 1993, the structure is a rare relic of the Second World War’s closing chapter. Its pitted concrete walls bear witness to multiple American air attacks on what was, at the time, a substation for the Hitachi Aircraft Company. The photo series published by Tokyo Times (more info link) catches the building on a brilliantly clear day, with the former substation’s drab concrete walls standing in sharp contrast to the deep blue skies which, in the now-distant past, begat winged fury with guns ablaze.