Himeyuri Memorial
The Himeyuri memorial ( Japanese ひ め ゆ り の 塔 , Himeyuri no tō ) is located in Itoman at the entrance of a cave in which the 3rd surgical department of a field hospital was housed during the Battle of Okinawa in the final phase of the Pacific War . The memorial was inaugurated on April 7, 1946 . It consists of a small stele , the actual Himeyuri no tō and a plaque with an inscription . The name Himeyuri (Eng. Lilies) is reminiscent of the Himeyuri schoolgirl troop who were used as auxiliary troops in this hospital.
overview
The Kanji Tō ( 塔 ) actually denotes a pagoda or a tower in Japanese . In reality, however, it is a stele-like memorial stone only a few dozen centimeters high. The small size of the memorial stone is due to the fact that it was erected very quickly after the end of the Second World War at a time of material scarcity and American occupation. Although the memorial stone was inaugurated as early as 1946, it is not the oldest monument of its kind. The Kompaku no tō ( 魂魄 の 塔 , roughly: memorial stone for the souls of the deceased) is even older than the Himeyuri no tō .
The Himeyuri school troop and the events that the Himeyuri memorial commemorates through Ishino Keiichirō became known . He wrote a series of articles from 1949 under the title Himeyuri no tō , which was followed by a stage play and a first film adaptation. His literary engagement with the events of the war and his preoccupation with the people of Okinawa earned him the candidacy for the Naoki Prize and the topic a great fame.
The memorial plaque is erected over the cave itself. Survivors' records, etc. are exhibited in the Himeyuri Peace Museum. In addition, there are a large number of steles and monuments in the adjacent parts of the site, which also remind of the fallen of the medical staff. It was not until the 20th anniversary of the Himyuri Peace Museum in 2009 and the associated restoration that the names of the students who served in (paramilitary) aid troops and who suffered the same fate as the soldiers on the memorial stone were added. The day the museum opens , June 23, is also a public holiday in Okinawa : Okinawa irei no hi .
Works on the subject of the Himeyuri memorial
Almost all works dramatize the topic selectively instead of a factual and comprehensive report on it. An exception is the 2007 documentary Himeyuri , which portrays the experiences of survivors of the Himeyuri school squad. The film was made over a period of 13 years with the constant participation of contemporary witnesses.
book
- 1949 series of articles Himeyuri no tō by Ishino Keiichirō, based on it a stage play, first performance: 1951 by the theater group of the Hakuo high school Tokyo
Movie
- 1953 Himeyuri no tō , directed by Imai Tadashi
- 1962 Taiheiyōsensō to himeyuri butai ( 太平洋 戦 争 と ひ め ゆ り 部隊 , "The Pacific War and the Himeyuri Troop"), directed by Komori Kiyoshi
- 1968 Ah himeyuri no tō ( あ ゝ ひ め ゆ り の 塔 ), directed by Masuda Toshio
- 1982 Himeyuri no tō , directed by Imai Tadashi
- 1995 Himeyuri no tō , directed by Kōyama Seijirō
- 2007 Himeyuri , directed by Shibata Shōhei
TV drama
- 2006 Okinawa jūgun shōjo kangotai - saigo no Nightingale ( 沖 縄 従 軍 少女 看護 隊 - 最後 の ナ イ チ ン ゲ ー ル ), drama complex of Japanese television
music
- Choral music Himeyuri no tō , text: Yamamoto Kazuo, composition: Iwakawa Saburō
- Shima-uta , text and composition: Miyazawa Kazufumi
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 26 ° 5 '46.9 " N , 127 ° 41' 25.2" E