Brave young women of Okinawa
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What I did
Himeyuri Museum and Monument
Itoman, Okinawa, Japan
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The history of Okinawa is amazing to say the least. I could not possibly go into all of the details of Okinawa's history because the fact of the matter is that there is simply just too much to discus for one small post. What I can tell you is that Okinawa was the stage for a horrible battle during the end of WWII. The battle was called "The Battle of Okinawa" and was considered the bloodiest in America's history. Although there are many details of this battle the one that I will focus on in this entry is the young men and women who were used in the war efforts.
During the battle of Okinawa some of the young women, and some young men, were recruited from their schools to work in the field as nurses for the Japanese soildureswho were wonded during the battle. Many of the girls, not entirely sure of what they were getting into, were excited about this challenge and thought that it would be a great way to learn such as an extra curricular actvity. They would soon find out that the facility they would be working out of was a series of underground tunnels and their duties they would be asked to complete would be terrifying. Although the scenes that they were experiencing on a daily basis were that of a horror movie they continued doing what they needed to do to the best of their ability.
Unfortunately although many of the young girls and boys survived the bulk of the battle it was not until the end that the lives were lost. Some were convinced to commit suiside because of the "barbaric Americans" (as they were informed by the Japanese soildures) while otheres were enclosed in the tunnels when they were sealed off.
The site of one of the cave openings is now a memorial to all of those who did not make it out of this horrific nightmare alive. The beautiful memorial stands just behind the large opening in the earth which itself is nothing less of a memorial. There are other statues and memorials around the grounds which leads to the museum which is in the back of the park like area. The museum did cost a few hundred yen to get in, however, it is well worth it. The story of the girls before the battle all the way through the battle is outlined on the wall telling the story of how proud the girls were to have been attending that school. As you continue onward through the time when Japan came down to Okinawa and began changing the way that the school operated you start to see artifacts from the school and even photographs of the children during their time at the school. Continue forward and you will see a replica of a hall that the girls would have been working in regularly, see uniforms and even hear the stories of some of the women who were once caring for the Japanese soildures in the caves during the battle.
The museum does not waste any inch of space telling you every detail that they can about each of the children and teachers who lost their lives. Towards the end of the museum you walk into what I can only describe as a yearbook of all those who lost their lives during the time of the war. Each one has their name and information including testimonies of the children are available to read (in both Japanese and English although the English selection is not as large as that in Japanese).
This place was not what you might expect from first glance. I would not be telling the truth if I said that no one at this location was sad. The area was not shrowded with sadness, anger or death. The air was light and it felt as if, to try and describe it in words, there was almost some type of understanding among the people who visited. It was as if everyone was not there to grieve the young children whos lives were lost but to appreciate their hard work regardless.
Needless the say the place is absolutely beautiful as is the story of these brave young girls and boys who unknowingly risked their lives doing something that many of us could not even imagine doing.
