Nakagawara Beach
中河原海岸
Tsu, Mie Prefecture
Nakagawara Beach in Mie Prefecture is the resting place of 36 people who drowned suddenly during a swimming program held by a local school. The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain a mystery.
Image: Nakagawara Beach
Photo by: Hiding from Japanese Ghosts, 2018
Image: Nakagawara Beach
Photo by: Hiding from Japanese Ghosts, 2018
Recorded as the nation's most tragic case of mass drowning, the Kyouhoku Middle School Drowning Incident (橋北中学校水難事件 / きょうほくちゅうがっこうすいなんじけん）occurred on July 28th, 1955 when 36 people lost their lives while undergoing swimming training at Nakagawara Beach in Mie Prefecture.
The investigations which followed the incident concluded the situation was a scientific mystery; it was unknown as to why over one-hundred students and swimming instructors suddenly panicked while swimming in waters considered entirely safe – leading to the deaths of over a third of the people involved.
It wasn't until years later that shocking witness testimony pieced together the events of the tragic incident, revealing a dark and buried secret which shook the nation and permanently prohibited all swimming at Nakagawara Beach.
The investigations which followed the incident concluded the situation was a scientific mystery; it was unknown as to why over one-hundred students and swimming instructors suddenly panicked while swimming in waters considered entirely safe – leading to the deaths of over a third of the people involved.
It wasn't until years later that shocking witness testimony pieced together the events of the tragic incident, revealing a dark and buried secret which shook the nation and permanently prohibited all swimming at Nakagawara Beach.
Japan's most tragic drowning incident, the news reached headlines around the nation.
Image: Asahi Shinbun's article about the incident
Photo by: Huffington Post
Image: Asahi Shinbun's article about the incident
Photo by: Huffington Post
July 28th, 1955
In order to complete their swim training conducted by Kyouhoku Middle School, over a hundred people – including young girls and teachers – entered the designated swimming area of Nakagawara Beach.
The designated swimming area had been set earlier in the morning, and passed the safety requirements of needing to be shallow for the students to stand but deep enough for the students to swim. Low and high tide had also been considered, and since the start of the training program had not been an issue.
Keen to finish their training, the girls and instructors were in high spirits, and the day had been reported as windless and clear - despite a slight shift in tide there were no foreseen dangers in the water.
A teacher who had been watching training from the beach noticed a line of white approaching from the deep ocean – it appeared as a shallow wave, but disappeared upon approaching the swimmers.
The swimmers had only been in the water for a few minutes when a sudden struggle broke out. The instructors and girls seemed to be experiencing difficulty remaining above the surface, and desperate cries for help were heard from the beach.
Witnesses rushed to their aid, and fought against the mass hysteria of the drowning victims – despite being able to touch the ocean floor, the conscious swimmers claimed their legs would not work. By that point almost a dozen people had drowned.
Swimmers were forcefully dragged to the safety of the beach. Rescue operators later confirmed the majority of the people being pulled from the water were in a catatonic state – conscious, but not responsive.
One frightened swimmer had been clutching what seemed to be a white hat; a garment which wasn't familiar to the training uniform.
A number of people died after arriving at hospital due to having swallowed too much water, and more perished in the following weeks from complications – particularly pneumonia.
Despite all being capable of swimming, the death count included 36 girls and instructors.
In the aftermath of the incident, it was discovered the depth of the water had risen unexpectedly from 1 metres to 1.5 metres within the few minutes the swimmers had entered the ocean.
This reason alone was disputed to not be enough in regards to why so many drowned in such a limited time; even instructors with years of training experience who stood taller than 1.5 metres had succumbed in the incident.
In order to complete their swim training conducted by Kyouhoku Middle School, over a hundred people – including young girls and teachers – entered the designated swimming area of Nakagawara Beach.
The designated swimming area had been set earlier in the morning, and passed the safety requirements of needing to be shallow for the students to stand but deep enough for the students to swim. Low and high tide had also been considered, and since the start of the training program had not been an issue.
Keen to finish their training, the girls and instructors were in high spirits, and the day had been reported as windless and clear - despite a slight shift in tide there were no foreseen dangers in the water.
A teacher who had been watching training from the beach noticed a line of white approaching from the deep ocean – it appeared as a shallow wave, but disappeared upon approaching the swimmers.
The swimmers had only been in the water for a few minutes when a sudden struggle broke out. The instructors and girls seemed to be experiencing difficulty remaining above the surface, and desperate cries for help were heard from the beach.
Witnesses rushed to their aid, and fought against the mass hysteria of the drowning victims – despite being able to touch the ocean floor, the conscious swimmers claimed their legs would not work. By that point almost a dozen people had drowned.
Swimmers were forcefully dragged to the safety of the beach. Rescue operators later confirmed the majority of the people being pulled from the water were in a catatonic state – conscious, but not responsive.
One frightened swimmer had been clutching what seemed to be a white hat; a garment which wasn't familiar to the training uniform.
A number of people died after arriving at hospital due to having swallowed too much water, and more perished in the following weeks from complications – particularly pneumonia.
Despite all being capable of swimming, the death count included 36 girls and instructors.
In the aftermath of the incident, it was discovered the depth of the water had risen unexpectedly from 1 metres to 1.5 metres within the few minutes the swimmers had entered the ocean.
This reason alone was disputed to not be enough in regards to why so many drowned in such a limited time; even instructors with years of training experience who stood taller than 1.5 metres had succumbed in the incident.
The grieving public demanded explanations.
Why hadn't the group immediately returned to the safety of land?
Why would capable swimmers suddenly panic to the point of hysteria?
What had suddenly caused that area to be unsafe for swimming?
Why hadn't the group immediately returned to the safety of land?
Why would capable swimmers suddenly panic to the point of hysteria?
What had suddenly caused that area to be unsafe for swimming?
Several theories developed as leading experts underwent investigations.
- A typhoon had struck the area earlier in the week, possibly causing a freshwater and salt-water layer to the designated swimming area. This may have resulted in two levels of tide current which would have been confusing for the swimmers, and made swimming to safety difficult. This was disputed as the time-frame between the swimmers entering the water and needing to be rescued was too narrow (five minutes) for such a drastic change in current which hadn't been foreseen in the morning.
- Sudden rainfall in another area could have resulted in a sudden outlet gush from a nearby river, causing the water levels to rise. This theory was dismissed due to lack of evidence.
- A large ship may have entered ocean waters parallel to the beach, causing a wave which increased the water level within seconds. This was given great thought, as witnesses agreed a line of white had been seen on the horizon, but it was unexplained as to how the line of white could approach the swimmers and disappear.
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Insufficient evidence prevented a decisive outcome from the court proceedings in Nagoya, and the principal of the school was sentenced to one year in prison for negligence.
It wasn't until several years later that a witness came forward with a letter to a magazine, admitting she had been one of the swimmers in the incident. While her memories pieced together the puzzle of what happened, the details caused more horror than understanding. On the day of the incident, she claimed she had swam to the designated area when her friend pointed out a line of people dressed in white head gear approaching from the deep ocean (different sources state her friend pointed out other swimmers further in the water were being pulled under by an unknown force). The people had disappeared below the surface upon reaching the area of the swimmers, and panic ensued as hands grabbed at the swimmer's legs to yank them under the water. The witness claimed the grasping limbs caused a wave of hysteria as the swimmers fought to stay above the surface – solving the mystery of why so many people drowned in such a short time frame. |
It was believed ghostly figures of the Second World War were lurking in the water.
Image: an artist's depiction of the incident - the girl is wearing the uniform of the Kyouhoku Middle School swimming program, and the figures in the background (believed to be ghosts) are wearing gear provided a decade prior to war sufferers. A documentary was released in Japanese about the drowning incident and the paranormal influences.
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She stated she had also been targeted by a phantom under the water, and was met face-to-face by a ghostly white face before being rescued.
The reception to the details were mostly sceptical, but more witnesses of the incident stepped forward to concur with the details of the letter.
Curious readers investigated to discover an uncanny historical incident.
It was revealed there had been a tragic air raid in the city of Tsu a decade prior during the Second World War, in which over 2,500 people lost their lives.
Due to the overwhelming number of casualties, the dead were buried at sea as opposed to a cremation; a funeral taboo which contradicted religious beliefs.
The air raid had commenced on March 12th, and had ended July 28th, 1945 – exactly ten years prior to the drowning incident.
It was revealed the white garment one swimmer had carried onto land at the time of the incident was that of head gear designated to maritime war soldiers in the Second World War; many of the causalities of the air raid a decade prior had been wearing the head gear.
It was believed on the day of July 28th, 1955 – the tenth-year anniversary of the air raid on Tsu – the 100 school girls and swimming instructors were attacked by the restless ghosts of those who had been buried at sea.
Since then, it is prohibited to swim at Nakagawara Beach.
The reception to the details were mostly sceptical, but more witnesses of the incident stepped forward to concur with the details of the letter.
Curious readers investigated to discover an uncanny historical incident.
It was revealed there had been a tragic air raid in the city of Tsu a decade prior during the Second World War, in which over 2,500 people lost their lives.
Due to the overwhelming number of casualties, the dead were buried at sea as opposed to a cremation; a funeral taboo which contradicted religious beliefs.
The air raid had commenced on March 12th, and had ended July 28th, 1945 – exactly ten years prior to the drowning incident.
It was revealed the white garment one swimmer had carried onto land at the time of the incident was that of head gear designated to maritime war soldiers in the Second World War; many of the causalities of the air raid a decade prior had been wearing the head gear.
It was believed on the day of July 28th, 1955 – the tenth-year anniversary of the air raid on Tsu – the 100 school girls and swimming instructors were attacked by the restless ghosts of those who had been buried at sea.
Since then, it is prohibited to swim at Nakagawara Beach.
Around Japan, July 28th and 29th are believed to be the most unlucky dates for swimming in the ocean as there are multiple reports of mysterious drowning deaths throughout decades on the same dates.
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