Following the Great Kantō earthquake on 1 September 1923, as many as 44,000 people were killed in the park when it was swept by a firestorm.

[1] Following World War II, the park also became the location of the main memorial to the victims of the Bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945.

[4][5][6] However, the memorial ceremony is regularly met with counter protests, especially by the organization Japan Women's Group Gentle Breeze (日本女性の会そよ風).

For the ceremony on 1 September 2020, 700 police officers were stationed in the park, and no violent incidents occurred.

[5] In 2022, it was reported that the then Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike had controversially declined to send a commemorative message for the sixth year in a row.