After a 15-minute bus ride from the Himeyuri Monument towards the east, there is the Peace Memorial Park. Inside the vast grounds, there is the Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum which I visited. Although it was a short time, I learned about the reality of the Battle of Okinawa from many materials and exhibits here.
Okinawa became the only ground battle site in Japan during the Pacific War, and for 90 days from March 1945, all modern weapons such as artillery bombardment, bombing, and flamethrowers were used in the fierce battle called the "Iron Typhoon." We learned that the Japanese commander did not order a halt to the fighting and committed suicide, resulting in numerous casualties.And then I learned about those who were accused of being spies by the Japanese military and became victims, and how some people chose to kill each other or commit suicide rather than become prisoners of war under the US military. At the time, the Japanese military was trying to ambush the US military in Okinawa and drag out a war of attrition to delay a mainland showdown. That is why such fierce battles were unfolding on the island. In the Okinawa battle, almost all the prefecture's citizens were mobilized, and about a quarter of the island's population, approximately 120,000 people, were said to have died, with a total of around 200,000 casualties including soldiers.
The museum also had many exhibits about the 27-year US occupation of Okinawa that followed the war. Amidst the harsh international confrontation of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, Okinawa played a military base role and endured a long period of occupation. In 1972, Okinawa was returned to Japan, but the situation remained the same with Okinawa accounting for 70% of all US military bases in Japan.
I think it would be great if many students and pupils visited the museum, especially as part of their school trips. It is an ideal place for peace education.
In the park, there is the "Cornerstone of Peace," a memorial that lists the names of the victims of the Battle of Okinawa, and from there, you can overlook the sea. It is quite difficult to imagine the sight of American warships swarming in from beyond the beautiful sea in front of you. I felt that we must make a concerted effort to firmly etch the memory of history.
Please see the full text here.
Okinawa: Memories of History and "A Bridge between Nations"｜柳基善 千年の旅