A Sacred Tomb in the Heart of Tokyo’s Business District

If you walk through Otemachi, a business center, during a weekday morning, everything feels efficient.

Men and women in dark suits move quickly.

Glass towers reflect other glass towers.

Phones vibrate, elevators rise, meetings begin.

It looks like the most modern version of Tokyo.

And yet, right in the middle of this district, there is a small open space that refuses to disappear.

No skyscraper.

No café.

No explanation sign large enough to compete with the buildings around it.

Only a quiet tomb.

This is the resting place of Taira no Masakado, a samurai who lived more than a thousand years ago.

When Tokyo Was Still the Countryside

In the 10th century, this area was nothing like it is today.

It was a rural land. Fields, paths, small communities.

Kyoto was the capital of Japan, far to the west.

Power, law, and authority all flowed from there.

Masakado rose in eastern Japan, far from the center.

He challenged the government and eventually declared himself a new emperor.

To the people living here, he was a hero.

To the authorities in Kyoto, he was a rebel.

Remembering the Losers

Masakado was defeated and killed by government forces.

In many countries, history is written around the winners.

In Japan, things are not always so simple.

Here, it is often the losers - not the victors - who remain in local memory.

After Masakado’s death, people in this area built a tomb for him.

Not to celebrate rebellion, but to remember someone who stood on their side.

He has been respected and feared by the local community for a long time.

But, the story doesn’t end here.

A Presence That Should Not Be Ignored

In Japan, there is a long-held belief that those who die violently or unjustly may become restless spirits.

Masakado came to be feared as one of them.

Not evil.

Not vengeful by choice.

But powerful - and not something to ignore.

When Tokyo began transforming into a modern city, people tried to relocate the tomb.

In 1923, after the Great Kanto Earthquake, the government planned to relocate it to build a new Ministry of Finance building.

Soon after, several officials involved in the project died suddenly.

After World War II, the Allied occupation authorities tried again.

They planned to remove the tomb and turn the land into a parking area.

During construction, a bulldozer overturned, killing a construction worker.

The project was abandoned.

No one tried again.

A Gap in the City

Today, Otemachi is one of the most valuable pieces of land in Japan.

Skyscrapers rise everywhere else.

But here, no buildings.

The atmosphere feels different - quieter, slower, almost cautious.

Some say Masakado still protects this place.

Others say it is simply tradition.

Either way, Tokyo chose not to erase him.

A Question for You

In your country’s history, is there someone who lost politically or militarily, yet is still remembered - perhaps even respected - by the people?

Thanks for reading. If this small story made you see Tokyo a little differently, that's the best reward I could ask for.