As living memories of World War Two fade 80 years after the war ended, traditional ways of teaching about peace through listening to survivors are becoming less possible as they pass away. Students born in the internet era are also less willing to simply sit and listen.
Amid this situation, a theater project from Okinawa – site of some of the war’s fiercest battles – is drawing attention.
Gripping play depicts Battle of Okinawa
Putting the barrel of a pistol into his mouth, the man screamed desperately.
And roughly 300 junior high school students gasped.
Okinawa actor bringing the Battle of Okinawa to life
They were watching a play about the Battle of Okinawa, where fierce fighting between the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military and US forces swept across the island, leaving more than 200,000 dead.
The gripping “peace theater” performance was staged by young Okinawan actors at a junior high school in Osaka.
Terrified students watching the play
But the students weren’t just watching a drama. Before the viewing, they’d learned about Japan’s road to war and Okinawa’s geographical position, continuously affected by regional circumstances.
Now the play, whose title can be roughly translated as “A Drama of the Battle of Okinawa and Peace” – is being trialed as a potential new model for peace education.
Peace trips
For years, annual school trips have been major opportunities for peace education in Japan, with places steeped in war history and symbolism like Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa top destinations.
But travel agencies which design peace-learning programs for trips are struggling, since the memories of people who had lived through the war were a key part – and the number of survivors is dwindling.
Even big travel agencies like JTB are coming up against this problem.
Travel agency discussing trip options
In a recent meeting, one JTB staffer told about how a school wanted its students to hear from a survivor in Nagasaki. But nobody was available, so a survivor living outside the city spoke to the students online.
Another person said even though memories are precious, it’s impossible for many students to sit still for an hour listening to elderly people they don’t know.
Yokota Hiromi, who works on peace learning for school trips
JTB team leader Yokota Hiromi said, “It really feels like we’re at a critical point – we’re losing the chance to hear real voices from people who actually experienced the war.
“That’s our huge concern and the schools that regularly take part in these programs feel the same.”
Peace education changes direction
So the agency has launched new programs.
A “Peace Dialogue” program
One is called “Peace Dialogue.” It connects local young people involved in peace activities with visiting students. Through discussions, students actively explore questions and problems, rather than passively receiving information.
This program has already been started up in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, the project team is focusing on Okinawa, trialing the peace drama from December in a program called “Peace Theater.”
“It feels as if you’re right there, immersed in the scene, sensing the raw human reality, the emotions, the tension. We see immense possibility,” Yokota said.
Inspiration to share survivor’s story
The play was created by Nagata Kensaku, an Okinawan native who worked with local young actors for over four years to bring it together.
Nagata rehearsing with young actors
Nagata wasn’t originally an activist. Growing up, he thought of the Battle of Okinawa as just a sad story from the past.
But meeting survivor Nakayama Kiku changed him.
Left: Nagata Kensaku Right: Nakayama Kiku, who died at the age of 94 in 2023
When he lightly asked for the secret of her energy at nearly 90, she told him she couldn’t die because she’d lost so many friends, classmates and family during the war.
“If I stop speaking, the proof that they once lived disappears. That’s why I can’t die so easily-I have a mission,” she said.
Nagata says he felt like he was struck by thunder – and took up the baton.
Survivor’s harrowing experience
The play is based on the experiences of 92-year-old Oshiro Yuichi, who was 11 during the battle when he and his family took shelter in a cave – and a Japanese soldier threatened to kill them rather than surrender to US forces.
Nagata talking with Oshiro
Oshiro still recalled the soldier shouting, “You Okinawans are all spies! I will throw a grenade from behind and kill you, remember it!”
The military’s principle that suicide was more honorable than surrender also affected civilians, Oshiro recalled bitterly.
“It was encouraging people to die before becoming a prisoner of war. Outrageous,” he said.
In pursuit of details for the play, Nagata wanted to visit the cave where Oshiro had hidden. But even with clues, he was unable to find the exact spot as he wandered the rocky ground, overgrown now.
Still, the reality hit home.
“Having no place to hide, they said they were desperately clinging to the bare rock face like insects,” Nagata said, choking up. “To think they were still trying to live under such conditions…”
Nagata says he wants to pass the baton he received from survivors to the younger generation
Despite the emotional stress of bringing the play to life, Nagata realizes that memories must be shared or the same tragedies could be repeated.
For him, one of the messages came from Oshiro’s father, who was asked by a man in the cave who had tried but failed to take his and his wife’s own life to kill them with a pistol. Oshiro’s father persuaded him to abandon the idea of dying.
Oshiro’s testimony is reflected in Peace Theater
“Treasure your life. You hear me?” Oshiro’s father told the man. “That’s a promise, right?”
That conversation is depicted in the drama.
Play stirs emotions
During the play, some students had to leave because it scared them so much.
Student Yamaguchi Haruma
Yamaguchi Haruma said, “It was so powerful. It really hit me in a way that what we learn in class never could.”
He added that he felt the war is not something far in the past and that scared him, too.
Abe Anna said the play made her cry.
Student Abe Anna
She added, “When we are part of society, we should have a strong will to get rid of war. From now on, I want to work hard and be involved to make it happen.”
AloJapan.com