Himeyuri Gakutotai

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The Himeyuri Gakutotai ( Japanese ひ め ゆ り 学徒 隊 , Eng. " Himeyuri Student Corps ", Eng. Himeyuri Student Corps or Lily Corps ) were 222 high school students between 15 and 19 years from Okinawa , who were similar to the Tekketsu Kinnōtai named student auxiliary troops , were recruited. Together with 18 teachers, they served as nurses for wounded soldiers in the Battle of Okinawa (from April to June 1945). Most of the schoolgirls tragically lost their lives during this battle , also known as Operation Iceberg . A total of around 200,000 people died in Okinawa, including 120,000 civilians, 13,000 American soldiers and around 66,000 Japanese soldiers.

history

Arazaki Coast on Okinawa

The Okinawa Prefectural Girls 'High School ( 私立 沖 縄 高等 女子 wurde ) was established in 1900 and converted into an Okinawa Prefecture State Girls' High School ( 沖 縄 県 立 高等 女子 校 ) three years later . In 1907 the school magazine Otohime ( 乙 姫 , after the mythological princess Otohime ) appeared for the first time . At the end of 1916 the general elementary school was relocated to the girls' high school. The general education school had an information brochure called Shirayuri ( 白 百合 , "white lily").

On their way to school, the students had to cross a makeshift bridge over the Asato River ( 安里川 ). There were repeated unfortunate deaths among the students. At the beginning of the Shōwa period (around 1926) the bridge was renewed. It was then given the name Himeyuri Bridge ( 姫 百合 橋 , Himeyuri-hashi ), which was made up of the two names for the school magazines , Otohime and Shirayuri .

In 1927, the first edition of the new school newspaper Himeyuri ( 姫 百合 ) appeared. By 1940 the name Himeyuri School had become established for both schools among both students and teachers . On March 23, 1945, a total of 222 students and 18 teachers were mobilized from these two schools and brought together in the Himeyuri Gakutotai . They had to care for the wounded in the Haebaru military hospital , which was set up in 50–60 caves, assist with the amputation of limbs, clean infected wounds and bring the dead from the caves to the cremation.

When the American invasion troops approached, the hospital was moved south in May 1945. On the occasion of this transfer, about 2,000 - 3,000 wounded Japanese soldiers were administered milk that had been treated with cyanide by the doctors.

On June 17, 1945, the new hospital site was hit by artillery and many of the Himeyuri students lost their lives. One day later, the students were released from service and left to fend for themselves. Around 80% of the 136 teachers killed lost their lives outside the protective caves in the next few days. A small group of 10 people, 9 students and 1 teacher fled south to the Arazaki coast. After a week, the group was captured by American soldiers. Contrary to instructions from the army to kill themselves in the event of imminent capture by hand grenades or by falling from the cliff, the teacher Seizen Nakasone persuaded the nine students to go into captivity together.

Himeyuri Memorial

Himeyuri Memorial

After the war, the Himeyuri Memorial was erected on April 7, 1946 in Ihara, Itoman to commemorate the dead on the spot where the 3rd military hospital, which was set up in a cave , was located. Today it is part of the Himeyuri Peace Museum .

filming

The first film adaptation of the events, entitled Himeyuri no Tō , was made by Tadashi Imai in 1953 with Keiko Tsushima in the lead role.

In 2007 the documentary of the same name: Himeyuri by Shibata Shōhei was released in Japanese cinemas. The film is based on footage that was recorded over a period of 13 years. In this film, 22 surviving schoolgirls report on their traumatic experiences. The film was voted the best documentary film of 2007 and has received many awards.

Web links

Commons : Himeyuri Cenotaph  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Testimonials from Himeyuri Student Nurses . In: Manoa . tape 13 , 1 Silence to Light: Japan and the Shadows of War. University of Hawaii Press, 2001, p. 142-151 , JSTOR : 4229932 .
  2. ↑ Scientific name: Lilium concolor
  3. ↑ Setsuko Kamiya: Student nurse recalls horror of Okinawa fighting. (No longer available online.) In: The Japan Times Online. December 28, 2007, archived from the original on April 29, 2011 ; accessed on October 23, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / search.japantimes.co.jp
  4. ↑ imdb.com
  5. ^ Film on Himeyuri nurses set to air. In: The Japan Times Online. March 18, 2007, accessed October 23, 2010 .
  6. ^ Official website of the film