Kozukappara Execution Grounds

Kozukappara was one of three main Edo-period execution grounds, which the Tokugawa shogunate used to dispose of criminals. From 1651 to 1873 a truly staggering 200,000 people were killed here in the most abhorrent ways imaginable: beheading, crucifixion, decapitation, being burned at the stake or boiled alive to name a few. Most of the area is now covered by Minami-Senju Station’s railway tracks, though Enmeiji Temple serves as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed here.