When Elizabeth Ryan was in Kobe from 1947 to 1948 as part of the Occupation, she witnessed one of the city's most dramatic events in the postwar period.

On April 24, 1948, Koreans started a riot and thousands stormed the Hyogo Prefectural Government building, holding the governor, the prefectural police chief and even Allied Occupation officers hostage.

The Occupation authorities declared a state of emergency for the city and beyond, the only declaration of its kind during the 1945-1952 Occupation.