Iimori Hill in Aizu-Wakamatsu is the burial site of 19 young members of the Byakkotai (White Tiger Force), teenage samurai who died during the 1868 Boshin War siege. Visitors climb the hill via stone steps or an escalator to reach the graves, a museum, and a panoramic viewpoint from which the boys mistakenly believed Tsurugajo Castle had fallen. Two stone monuments gifted by Mussolini's Italy and Nazi Germany — acknowledging the group's spirit — add a sobering historical footnote. The site pairs naturally with nearby Tsurugajo Castle for a full Aizu samurai history day.
- Type
- Venue
- Category
- Culture
- Season
- Year-round
- Month
- Year-round (best Spring & Autumn)
- Region
- Tohoku
- Prefecture
- Fukushima
- City
- Aizu-Wakamatsu
Highlights
- ◆Graves of 19 teenage Byakkotai samurai from the 1868 Boshin War
- ◆Panoramic viewpoint overlooking Aizu-Wakamatsu and Tsurugajo
- ◆On-site Byakkotai memorial museum with period artefacts
- ◆Obelisk monuments gifted by 1930s Italy and Germany
- ◆Combined itinerary possible with Tsurugajo Castle nearby