Dongshi Loyalty Monument (東勢表忠碑)

A monument lost in the spaces between houses in Dongshi. Dongshi Loyalty Monument (東勢表忠碑) is a hidden monument in Dongshi, Taichung, dating back to the Japanese colonial era. It was inaugurated October 14th, 1925, in memory of 288 Japanese killed in action or lost to disease during the subjugation of Tayal communities in the mountains beyond Dongshi, who were reportedly interred at the site. The inscription now reads Monument to the Martyrs of the War of Resistance Against Japan (抗戰陣亡將士紀念碑). Red characters for Nanmei Cake Shop (南美餅行) can be seen on the exterior of the building in the background. It originally stood in a small park next to Dongshi Public Hall (東勢公會堂) and Dongshi Social Hall (東勢社會館), but in the post-war era the land was allocated to demobilized KMT veterans and structures accreted around the periphery. The original inscription was also replaced at some point, reframing the monument as one to anti-Japanese resistance by affixing a stone plate to the front. Whether any…