Japanese Cemetery Park in Singapore asks ‘Pokémon Go’ hunters to stay away
The Japanese Cemetery Park located in Hougang, Singapore, has a sign requesting visitors looking to hunt Pokémon on its grounds to not enter out of respect for the dead buried there.
The Japanese Association of Singapore put up a sign typed in English and Japanese to prohibit visitors from hunting Pokemon at the Japanese Cemetery Park, which holds the graveyard of Japanese civilians, soldiers, prostitutes and convicted war criminals.
“The Japanese Cemetery Park is a site for those who rest in peace,” the notice read. “Please respect them and do not enter the ground for Pokemon Go.”
The sign was reposted from the Instagram account @azrashazeaa to @publicnoticesg on Jan. 25, capturing attention from some netizens, though it was seen around the park as early as 2016 when the game was released.
The augmented reality mobile game where players are encouraged to venture out into real-world locations in search of Pokémon has been making headlines since it was launched in 2016.
According to Mothership, the memorial park was founded along Chuan Hoe Avenue by three Japanese brothel-keepers in 1891. It was officially built to bury Japanese prostitutes, also known as “Karayuki-san,” in the 20th century who were brought into the country to equalize the nation’s gender ratio. Many of the women reportedly died destitute.
Over the years, Japanese civilians, soldiers and war criminals from before and after World War II were also buried there. The cemetery, which now holds nearly a thousand people’s remains, was transformed into a memorial park in 1987 that is now maintained by the Japanese Association of Singapore.
Featured Image via Mothership.sg
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