Nakano Prison
On Friday, March 24th I went looking for the Nakano Prison. Until a few days before, I’d never heard of it, and I sought it out half expecting to find a prison currently in use. Instead, I found a construction site surrounding the main gate of the former Nakano Prison. The site, immediately adjacent to the Nakano Sewerage Bureau, is currently being redeveloped, but the gate is protected behind a fence and will remain in situ because it is a designated tangible cultural property. In use from 1915 until 1983, the solid and ornate entrance gate is all that is left of a prison that was once notoriously used to contain political prisoners during the country’s dark days of military rule.