Gyoda Area: Unique circle shape on the map
Circle road as reminder of former radio broadcasting site
The circular road encompassing the area containing the Gyoda Housing Complex and Gyoda Park is a remnant of when this area was a key radio base for the Japanese Navy. A wireless telegraph station was first built here in 1915. A main tower of roughly 200 meters was erected in the center and 18 sub-towers, each 60 meters tall were erected around this main tower. This was a large facility that boasted world-class performance at that time. This area had yet to become Funabashi City, but maps around the world were starting to refer to it as the "Doorstep to Japan."
This radio tower was used to exchange congratulatory telegrams between the Emperor Taisho and US President Wilson, and it was used as a means of communication during the Great Kanto Earthquake. However, it will best be remembered in history for transmitting the "Niitakayamanoboru 1208" code at 530 PM on December 2, 1941 that set in motion the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The tower was dismantled in 1971 but a monument in its honor remains in Gyoda Park.
(1)Central transmission base before returned by US forces after WWII Management of circle shaped road
(2)Funabashi Radio Tower Monument in Gyoda Park