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Thursday, August 11, 2011

Reminder of War in Okinawa (Photos) Chibirichi Gama (Cave)

The photos I have taken over the past two days are a gruesome reminded of the horrors of war.

To the left and right of this monument are caves where civilians took shelter during the Battle of Okinawa.

Skulls, surrounding the figure of the man playing a sanshin, represent those who perished in the caves.


Red clay figures may be seen through the slots in the front of the monument.  Fearing a fate worse than death, if taken by the advancing American forces, families killed their children before committing suicide themselves, some by poison, others used grenades given to them by the Japanese soldiers.


Eighty-four of the hundred and forty people who took shelter in Chibichri Gama died in this cave.


As if this monument wasn't a gruesome enough reminder of the war which took place in 1945, some Japanese Nationalists came to Okinawa in 1987 and smashed the red clay statues.  Extreme right wingers believe the monument is an insult to the Emperor.

Should history be changed, or should people be reminded of the horrors of war?









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9 comments:

  1. Muza-chanAugust 11, 2011 at 10:54 AM

    Great article, Mike! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. GeneAugust 11, 2011 at 1:57 PM

    We should know the truth and learn to relate to the Horrors of War. So we can STOP the Mad Sadness it brings us all,, an Honor to those who died in the name of War no matter how or by Who.You bring Honor to Those who died in the Nightmare of WAR. no matter what You call it..

    ReplyDelete
  3. RyukyuMikeAugust 11, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    Gene,
    Thanks for commenting. I usually try to throw some humor in my blog posts but, couldn't find anything funny to say this time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RyukyuMikeAugust 11, 2011 at 6:19 PM

    Muza-chan,
    Thank you !

    ReplyDelete
  5. nariçiAugust 12, 2011 at 12:32 AM

    Individuals and those involved in causing the war, be tried at the end of the war. pay compensation to using excessive force.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownAugust 12, 2011 at 4:29 AM

    That was a very well written and deeply respectful article.

    ReplyDelete
  7. RyukyuMikeAugust 12, 2011 at 5:10 AM

    Narici and FishHawk,
    Thank you for reading and your comments.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownOctober 9, 2011 at 2:53 AM

    History is history, and it shouldn't be rewritten. It would be nice if countries and people could learn from these wars. Sadly, that's often not the case.

    Nice photos of a sobering topic.

    ReplyDelete
  9. RyukyuMikeOctober 9, 2011 at 11:00 PM

    LadyE,
    Most would agree but, for some reason or another, there are folks who like to rewrite history, or just plain deny it. Puzzling, huh?

    ReplyDelete

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Cheers,
Mike