It was cloudy on Saturday but the somber mood was appropriate for the day’s adventure: a trip to Peace Memorial Park. The park (and its accompanying museum, which we didn’t get to see) commemorates the Battle of Okinawa which lasted for 90 days during WWII and claimed over 200,000 lives, more than half of which were civilian.
The park itself, just as a nature preserve, is gorgeous. I found these in the parking lot on the way in!
The centerpiece of the park is this fountain, which overlooks the ocean on one side . . .
. . . and these walls on the other.
The walls list the names of every one that perished during or as a result of the battle—military and civilian, Okinawan, Japanese, American, Korean, British and others.
There were probably 20 or more smaller monuments around the park. Not being able to read much Japanese really put us at a disadvantage here, as we had no idea what these additional monuments were memorializing—different events during the battle? or maybe one for each region of the island?—but they were interesting to look at! Several of them had colorful origami crane chains like this one.
We really enjoyed walking around and reflecting; Logan, on the other hand, enjoyed climbing all the steps and tossing pebbles :)
It is a unique experience to witness and pay respect to the truly universal suffering of war. The park is intended not only as a remembrance of the past, but also as a tangible expression of the wish for peace in the future. May it be so!
The park itself, just as a nature preserve, is gorgeous. I found these in the parking lot on the way in!
The centerpiece of the park is this fountain, which overlooks the ocean on one side . . . 
. . . and these walls on the other.
The walls list the names of every one that perished during or as a result of the battle—military and civilian, Okinawan, Japanese, American, Korean, British and others.
There were probably 20 or more smaller monuments around the park. Not being able to read much Japanese really put us at a disadvantage here, as we had no idea what these additional monuments were memorializing—different events during the battle? or maybe one for each region of the island?—but they were interesting to look at! Several of them had colorful origami crane chains like this one.
We really enjoyed walking around and reflecting; Logan, on the other hand, enjoyed climbing all the steps and tossing pebbles :)
It is a unique experience to witness and pay respect to the truly universal suffering of war. The park is intended not only as a remembrance of the past, but also as a tangible expression of the wish for peace in the future. May it be so!
Thanks so much for sharing your adventures. Amazing to see how a different culture pays respect in such a peaceful way. The flowers
ReplyDeleteare absolutely beautiful! I find myself looking
forward to your adventures!
Love, Mom
Great posts! Love that you are exploring and using that camera!
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