| Date | 1 January 1956 (1956-01-01) |
|---|---|
| Location | Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Japan |
| Participants | 35000–40000 |
| Deaths | 124 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 75 |
| Property damage | collapsed shrine stone walls |
Just after midnight in the morning of 1 January 1956 a human crowd crush and stampede resulted in the death of 124 individuals and 75 people were injured at the Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Japan.
Stampede
Around midnight of 1 January 1956, 35,000 to 40,000 people visited the Yahiko Shrine to pay the traditional honors on the occasion of the new year. Just after midnight a stampede occurred on the steep steps leading to the shrine at the moment the priest started throwing down rice cookies, according to the tradition. The two-metres high stone walls on the sides of the stair collapsed due to the pushing by crowd. People were buried under the stones or fell down.
Initial reports listed 112 deaths and 50 injured people. These numbers later increased to 124 deaths and 75 injured people.
References
- "124 Sjinto-pelgrims in gedrang verpletterd". De Maasbode (in Dutch). 2 January 1956. p. 2 – via Delpher.
- "Gedrang bij Sjinto-heiligdom: ruim honderd doden". Leeuwarder Courant : Hoofdblad van Friesland (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 2 January 1956. p. 3 – via Delpher.
- "112 JAPANESE DIE IN PANIC AT SHRINE". The New York Times. 1 January 1956.
- "Ramp in heiligdom" (in Dutch). De Stem. 2 January 1956. p. 1 – via krantenbankzeeland.nl.
- "Het aantal" (in Dutch). De Stem. 3 January 1956. p. 1 – via krantenbankzeeland.nl.