Abashiri Prison Essay

The Abashiri Prison Museum (網走刑務所博物館, or Abashiri keimusho hakubutsu kan) opened as an open air museum in 1985. The prison itself, however, has over a hundred years of history that began in the Meiji era (1868-1912). Since it is located in one of the coldest regions of Japan, furthermore, the northeastern side of Hokkaido near lakes and the Okhotsk Sea, it was made into a prison where the occupants were able to remain under the watchful eyes of the guards. The cold, harsh conditions in Abashiri Prison were only made worse for the prisoners as food became scarce while still doing hard labor. Consequently, many of those prisoners died in that prison. At some point, more than 1300 people were sent as prisoners to Abashiri Prison, some 30% of