What stands on the former grounds of Sugamo Prison?

A commercial skyscraper occupies the former prison grounds.

What remains of Sugamo Prison can be seen today?

A commemorative stone with an inscription praying for peace and an old drainage outlet in a nearby park remain on the grounds.

Where was Sugamo Prison located?

The prison was situated in the Ikebukuro district within Toshima ward.

Who was held at Sugamo Prison?

The facility held political dissenters, captured Allied military personnel, foreign spies including Richard Sorge, and convicted war criminals.

Which authority administered the prison following the war?

Allied occupation authorities from the United States military operated the facility during the post-war occupation period.

Tokyo · Japan

Sugamo Prison: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Residents settling into Ikebukuro trade quiet residential alleys for the constant rush around Sunshine City, where former execution grounds now host daily commuter traffic and shopping towers.

Sugamo Prison · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Around here2

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Within two hours

Japan National Stadium≈ 25 min NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building≈ 25 min Shinjuku Park Tower≈ 25 min Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower≈ 1 hr Shinjuku Gyoen≈ 1 hr Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building≈ 1 hr

About the place

Sunshine City stands directly over the grounds where Sugamo Prison held wartime leaders and political dissenters.

Modelled on European penal architecture, the facility originally held political dissidents and domestic communists who breached state preservation laws. During wartime conflicts, military authorities detained captured foreign airmen and intelligence operatives within the walls. Following hostilities, Allied forces requisitioned the undamaged compound to detain suspects facing international military tribunals.

Read on

American military personnel administered the expanded compound, where detainees consumed Japanese meals prepared by local staff and served by high-ranking inmates. Executions of condemned wartime leaders took place before civilian authorities reclaimed the grounds. Demolition cleared the parcel for a commercial skyscraper, leaving only a memorial stone dedicated to peace and a preserved drainage outlet in the adjacent university park.

Associations

Sunshine CityCommercial skyscraper complex occupying the former execution grounds.
Wartime trialsDetention centre for suspects facing international military tribunals.
Peace memorialEngraved stone standing as the sole commemorative marker on the site.
Execution historyGrim legacy of capital sentences carried out on military and state leaders.
Preserved drainage outletSurviving structural artifact maintained near the university campus park.

Facts

Allied military authorities took over the compound undamaged after the bombing of Tokyo to detain war crimes suspects.
A stone engraved with a plea for eternal peace marks the location where prison buildings were dismantled.
An original drainage outlet from the facility remains preserved in the park adjacent to Tokyo International University.
The prison facility originally stood in the Ikebukuro district within Toshima ward.

Updated September 9, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Sugamo Prison: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

What is around2

Sunshine City stands directly over the grounds where Sugamo Prison held wartime leaders and political dissenters.

Getting there and staying

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