Going Underground
Descending the damp concrete steps, I slowly traveled over 60 years back in time, to a dark, cold, and windy corridor of death. You see, my footprints were etching the same dusty ground that was traversed by officers of the Japanese navy during the Battle of Okinawa. As I moved deeper through the maze, my mind constantly recalled the over 200,000 people that perished during the three month long battle, from April to June 1945. Then my mind moved to the hundreds who had died within the same walled corridors that I was currently walking. How could I not think these thoughs? Many a Japanese sailor took his own life within the caves of the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters. In one room, a small sign on the wall explained the extensive series of small holes along the walls and low ceiling, which were created by a suicidal sailor's hand grenade. In another room dangled a sign indicating the location where Vice Admiral Minoru Ota transcribed a final telegram to the Japanese 32nd Army Headquarters, a day before taking his own life within the underground maze.
After exiting the cavernous tunnels, I visisted the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park, which is a beautiful and somber tribute to all who died during the 3-month battle, including the Japanese and American troops and the local Okinawan civilians. In the Peace Park museum is a cronological listing of the events the lead up to the Battle of Okinawa, the battle itself, and then the post-war reconstruction on the island. It's an interesting story, considering the controversy that continues (even today) regarding the details of the war.
What an opportunity for me, as an American currently living in Japan, to be able to see such things. By numbers comparison, the Americans definitely won the battle, as only 12,000 or so US troops died during the battle. The Japanese military lost around 66,000. But the ultimate victims were the Okinawan civilians, whose casualties amounted into six figures. It's estimated that nearly 140,000 Okinawans were killed during the battle, which is estimated to be between a quarter and a third of the population on the island at that time. There's an old saying about history being written by the winners. The Peace Museum on Okinawa, however, appears to be a case where history was written by the victims, as a reminder to all about the impact of war and the people that it can affect.
After exiting the cavernous tunnels, I visisted the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park, which is a beautiful and somber tribute to all who died during the 3-month battle, including the Japanese and American troops and the local Okinawan civilians. In the Peace Park museum is a cronological listing of the events the lead up to the Battle of Okinawa, the battle itself, and then the post-war reconstruction on the island. It's an interesting story, considering the controversy that continues (even today) regarding the details of the war.
What an opportunity for me, as an American currently living in Japan, to be able to see such things. By numbers comparison, the Americans definitely won the battle, as only 12,000 or so US troops died during the battle. The Japanese military lost around 66,000. But the ultimate victims were the Okinawan civilians, whose casualties amounted into six figures. It's estimated that nearly 140,000 Okinawans were killed during the battle, which is estimated to be between a quarter and a third of the population on the island at that time. There's an old saying about history being written by the winners. The Peace Museum on Okinawa, however, appears to be a case where history was written by the victims, as a reminder to all about the impact of war and the people that it can affect.
posted by Unknown | 2:42 PM
2 Comments:
I've never understood the reasons why the Japanese government continues to whitewash its actions (and the actions of the military) during the war.
If they just admitted it, the issue would eventually go away. All they are doing is keeping it alive.
I wonder if they consider the Okinawans to be "Japanese?"
Jeff, I think you nailed it on the head. After the war, many people (including those in the Japanese and American militaries) spoke about the treatment of Okinawans during the war. Although many of the atrocities were spoken of consistently and repeatedly, it seems the Government of Japan held a position that because the details were inconsistent, it was acceptable to say that it's "unclear" exactly what happened, and leave it at that.
Personally, I am one to believe that if we don't learn from history, then we are doomed to repeat it. If modern day textbooks are being edited to remove potentially damaging historical information, then future generations will effectively learn nothing about the atrocities of the past and will have no basis to determine what we can do in the future to prevent those events from reoccurring.
In regards to your final question, I honestly don't know how the Okinawans are viewed by mainland Japanese these days. But from what I have seen, I have a feeling that Okinawans have a relationship with its mainland counterparts simiar to the relationship Hawaiians share with US mainlanders. Like Hawaiians, the Okinawan people are proud of their past and are trying to preserve certain elements of it even though it isn't completely uniform with the rest of their current national government's history and culture.
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