The sign outside the Memorial and Museum devoted to the 219 High School students and 18 teachers who were ordered to join the medical unit of the Japanese Army Field Hospital.

himeyuri no to

Perhaps one of the most touching and saddening stops on our tour in Okinawa was to the Memorial of Himeyuri No To. Our tour conductor recounted how 219 High School students (mostly girls) and 18 teachers were ordered to help in the war effort by becoming aides to the medical unit of the Japanese Army Field Hospital. These "hospitals" were set up in dark, dank caves where these young, innocent students were subjected first-hand to the unimaginable horrors of war.

The innocent faces of the students of Himeyuri No To lined the walls of the museum.

As I walked through the museum with my friend and travel companion, a sense of heaviness weighed upon my heart. As we walked along the walls lined with photographs of the young faces of the students, I noticed these Okinawan schoolgirls talking and laughing with one another. I imagined that a half a century ago young schoolgirls, not unlike these, were assigned to attend to the wounded and dying Japanese soldiers in caves, seeing and experiencing things that no child should have to.

We exited the museum in silence, in awe by the deep sense of sadness of that the memorial evoked in us. I found myself fighting back tears.

Upon returning home from our tour of Okinawa, these thoughts and images left the forefront of my mind. Perhaps they were pushed into so dark corner of my mind intentionally, so as not to dwell on the atrocities that my ancestors and other Okinawans had to endure during the senseless tragedy of war. But my travel companion was diligent in his quest for knowledge about Okinawa. He found the book (which I believe is now out of print) that our tour guide suggested: Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa and the Atomic Bomb by George Feifer. He obtained two copies and presented me with one of them. This gift was received with mixed feelings.

I held in my hands a graphic account of the battle that ravaged the homeland of my ancestors and brought about the occupation of the U.S. military on the tiny island. As I flipped through the black and white photos in the middle of the book, I saw pictures of the once beautiful land now torn by war. A photo of the rubble of what once was the great Shuri Castle pierced my heart. But what saddened me the most was the faces of the Okinawans who were victims, caught in the middle of a war started by their Japanese counterparts that held little or no regard for the people of Okinawa.

The book sat on my shelf many days before I could open it to read it.

When I finally found the courage to read it, I opened it up to chapter 13, a recount of the experiences of a nurses’ aide named Ruriko Morishita who was one of the girls of Himeyuri. After reading it, I found my cheeks wet with tears.

To fully understand the memory of Himeyuri No To, please read the excerpt from Tennozan that I have quoted. (Click on the link below.) I promise that you too will be touched by the bravery of these young girls.

Excerpts from Tennozan: The Battle of Okinawa and the Atomic Bomb by George Feifer
Chapter 13 * Ruriko Morishita, Nurses’ Aide
(page 183-188)