Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery

Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery

In 1854, a 24-year old marine who accompanied Commodore Perry on his trip to Japan to negotiate ending the period of isolation, died aboard the USS Mississippi, one of the fleet of ships, in an accident. Because the U.S. government requested this young man's grave to be built in a place overlooking the ocean, this cemetery for foreigners was made in the current location.
The hilly cemetery is situated in a sunny area where you will find crosses and grave posts of a variety of shapes. There also are many graves of those who selected Yokohama as their second hometown and resided here until their deaths such as Morel, the founder of Japan's railroad system, Copeland who established the first beer brewery in the country, Kidder who founded Ferris University, as well as other foreign pastors and doctors. Currently, there are approximately 4,800 graves of those from more than 40 different countries.