The Old War Memorial in Pagsanjan | Jigenzan Hishimaji Temple Ruins

4 days ago
3 min read

A forgotten memorial for Japanese, Filipino, and American soldiers who died during World War II can be found in Brgy. Pinagsanjan, Pagsanjan. The site is known as Toji Temple, although the former temple has since been converted into a residential house. It is currently inhabited by Mr. Antonio Madla and his family.

Jigenzan Hishimaji Temple Ruins — A close-up photo of an officer’s gravestone.

Mr. Madla has served as the caretaker of the memorial for over 30 years. He once possessed a list of the soldiers memorialized at the site, for whom individual gravestones were built. The memorial also included a monument dedicated to the ship that carried the soldiers, named Hitoji.

The land where the memorial stands is owned by Vicente Jocson, a resident of Biñan, Pagsanjan. At the time, the property in Pagsanjan was rented to a Japanese individual named Kajiwara, who transformed the area into a memorial so that families from Japan could visit the graves of their deceased relatives. The families of the bereaved arranged visits through a Japanese travel agency called PIC, which organized tours to the memorial.

After Kajiwara’s death in 1993, the memorial gradually fell into neglect, as no one continued to fund its maintenance. Kajiwara himself was buried at the memorial site. After his passing, a Japanese doctor briefly funded the maintenance of the place. This doctor took the list of soldiers from Mr. Madla and brought it to Japan. The list was encased in a copper metal box.

In 2001, the nearby La Corona Resort demolished nearly half of the memorial’s gravestones to create space for a parking area. Kajiwara’s grave was among those destroyed. Following this incident, Japanese tourists stopped visiting the memorial until 2009.

According to Mr. Madla, La Corona Resort later closed down, which he believes was a form of karma for the destruction of the gravestones. Today, the surroundings of Toji Temple are in ruins. The structure itself is no longer usable as a temple, having been converted into a residence.

Originally, Mr. Madla lived behind the temple, but the demolition also affected his home. His house was destroyed, leaving him with no choice but to move into the former temple building.

The Japanese Embassy has expressed plans to rebuild the memorial shrine. The proposal involves collecting all remaining gravestones, burying them in a single location, and erecting one monument in their place. However, as of the time of this report, the embassy has not yet contacted Mr. Madla regarding the planned renovation.

*Note - The name “Jigenzan Hishimaji Temple Ruins” only appears on Google Maps, but according to Mr. Madla, the real name is Toji Temple.