Abashiri Prison Essay
The Abashiri Prison Museum (網走刑務所博物館, or Abashiri keimusho hakubutsu kan) opened as an open air museum in 1985. The prison itself, however, has over a hundred years of history that began in the Meiji era (1868-1912). Since it is located in one of the coldest regions of Japan, furthermore, the northeastern side of Hokkaido near lakes and the Okhotsk Sea, it was made into a prison where the occupants were able to remain under the watchful eyes of the guards. The cold, harsh conditions in Abashiri Prison were only made worse for the prisoners as food became scarce while still doing hard labor. Consequently, many of those prisoners died in that prison. At some point, more than 1300 people were sent as prisoners to Abashiri Prison, some 30% of
whom were sentenced to life imprisonment, while others had a twelve year sentence to complete. Now, the museum can still be seen and toured by visitors for a fee. There are plenty of displays all over the prison of life-size dummies in uniform (prison staff and prisoners) to exhibit a tangible understanding of previous work and prison conditions in Abashiri Prison. Once there, museum guests can see the original prison buildings and how different it looks from modern structures; Abashiri Prison Museum’s building was made by hand, while other structures were built with the help of machinery.
whom were sentenced to life imprisonment, while others had a twelve year sentence to complete. Now, the museum can still be seen and toured by visitors for a fee. There are plenty of displays all over the prison of life-size dummies in uniform (prison staff and prisoners) to exhibit a tangible understanding of previous work and prison conditions in Abashiri Prison. Once there, museum guests can see the original prison buildings and how different it looks from modern structures; Abashiri Prison Museum’s building was made by hand, while other structures were built with the help of machinery.