Nuchi Du Tokara

Nuchi du tokara is an Okinawan saying which translates to life is a treasure.  For an island that was nearly destroyed during World War II, this peaceful saying carries a special significance.

I knew that my mom would want to go to the Peace Memorial near the Southern tip of Okinawa. She has memories of life in America during WWII -- air raid drills, victory gardens, ration books. She lived in Washington, D.C. during the War which I am sure impacted her experience as a young girl. In addition, she had traveled to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii earlier in 2014 with my sister's family. Coming to Okinawa and seeing Peace Memorial Park would be a way to bring some of it full circle.

In the Memorial Hall, displays like this, made mostly of origami paper, are abundant.

The Okinawa Peace Prayer Park and Memorial Hall are built in the location of the last fighting of the Battle of Okinawa. The Battle of Okinawa, known as the "Typhoon of Steel" in Okinawa, was fierce and devastating. The Japanese used Okinawa as a way to delay the Allies arrival to their mainland, and the Japanese soldiers chose fighting to their deaths or suicide over surrender. Many civilian Okinawans were conscripted into service of some kind, perhaps as soldiers or field nurses. Other civilians were just trying to protect themselves, and often ended up hiding in caves or in family tombs. The Battle of Okinawa lasted 82 days from April 1st, 1945 until June 22, 1945. When it was over the death toll was stunning: 12,000 Allied forces; 110,000 Japanese soldiers; and around 100,000 innocent civilians. Somewhere between one-quarter and one-third of the civilian population of Okinawa was lost: men, women, children. The ferocity of the battle and the incredible loss of life certainly played into President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb just 6 weeks later.

A Shisa surrounded by garlands of origami cranes, a symbol of peace

While there are parts of the museum that detail the events that unfolded during the battle, it is indeed a museum and memorial to peace. Not the peace of a treaty signed, but a peace that is a way of life.

This Buddha statue is the largest lacquer representation of Buddha. The artist, a local Okinawan who lost two sons in the battle, created this over 18 years. The statue is at the center of the Memorial Hall. It is 12 meters high and 8 meters across. 

Outside of Memorial Hall, on the expansive surrounding grounds, is Peace Memorial Park. Here are 1,200 granite slabs, upon which are engraved the names of over 240,000 people who lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa. Regardless of nationality. Men. Women. Children. All are remembered here. At the center of the circle in the left portion of the photo below is where the eternal flame lies.

The geography surrounding the Peace Memorial Park is dramatic, and the waves crashing into the cliffs are in sharp contrast to the peace one can feel within the park itself.

These cliffs are sometimes referred to as the suicide cliffs, as soldiers and civilians alike chose death over capture. For soldiers, perhaps it was the result of an order by their officer; for civilians, it was a choice borne out of utter fear created by horrifying propoganda. 

Up the hill from the Peace Prayer Park is a whole series of additional memorials, given by government agencies, or by other prefectures in Japan, to commemorate the loss of life and to look forward to the prospect of peace.

The museum that outlines the battle and the reconstruction of the island was incredibly well done, putting stories to the statistics, and making meaning where it often seems there can't be any. How can one make meaning from such devastation? The Okinawans' answer? Nuchi du tokara.

A few books and videos that I found were helpful in learning about this history -- as with any history of a war, the material in all of these can be incredibly difficult to hear, watch, or read.

Above the East China Sea by Sarah Bird

The Girl with the White Flag by Tomiko Higa

HBO Miniseries: The Pacific (a companion mini-series to Band of Brothers)

Nuchi du tokara: Tales of the Battle of Okinawa Survivors in California (YouTube video)