Okinawans gather at the “Konpaku no To” memorial in Itoman on June 23 and other locations to pray for those who died during the Battle of Okinawa near the end of World War II. (Video footage by Shohei Okada, Jin Nishioka and Masaru Komiyaji)
Okinawans gathered to pray on June 23 for the thousands who died 80 years ago during the Battle of Okinawa.
The prefecture commemorates the victims on this day because it is when the Imperial Japanese Army ended its organized fighting.
The “Konpaku no To” memorial to war victims in the Komesu district of Itoman, near the southern tip of the main Okinawa island, was erected in February 1946, making it the first monument of its kind in Okinawa.
One visitor this year was 92-year-old Genshin Maeshiro, who came to offer prayers for two of his elder brothers who died in the fierce conflict.
The remains of both brothers were never found. Instead, the family placed a small stone in the siblings’ shared grave.
Maeshiro prayed that war will never occur again because once it starts, it destroys everything.
Another woman paying her respects at the memorial was Aki Kamiunten, 52, who came with her 21-year-old daughter.
A native of Chiba Prefecture just east of Tokyo, Kamiunten moved to Okinawa 21 years ago after marrying an Okinawa native.
Residents of the former Mawashi village where she once lived collected the remains of about 35,000 war dead scattered in fields and the roadside after villagers were forcibly moved to Komesu by the U.S. military. Those remains were laid to rest at the memorial.
Frequent reports in Okinawa of the discovery of unexploded bombs left over from World War II left her with the feeling that the war still has not ended.
Another site where bereaved family members congregated to remember loved ones was the “Heiwa no Ishiji” Cornerstone of Peace. Names of the victims, Japanese and Americans, are inscribed on the monuments there.
A 78-year-old woman arrived with her two grandchildren to pay tribute to her elder sisters who were 2 and 4 years old when they perished. The woman was told her siblings died as a result of the U.S. attack and malnutrition.
Although born after the war and having no memory of her elder sisters, she brought her grandchildren because she wanted them to also honor those who died.
Akiko Ishiki, 90, visited the memorial where six relatives, including her mother, have their names engraved in the monuments.
While she prayed for war to never occur again, she also realized that fighting rages in various parts of the world, including Iran, which the U.S. military attacked the previous day.
AloJapan.com