VOX POPULI: Himeyuri Student Corps survivors pass on cruelty of war
The Himeyuri-no-to memorial in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, stands on top of a natural cave where many girls of the Himeyuri Student Corps were buried after the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. The Himeyuri Peace Museum is seen in the back left. (Kazuyuki Ito)
Why didn't they flee?
That question was often asked by visitors unfamiliar with the 1945 Battle of Okinawa when the Himeyuri Peace Museum first opened 36 years ago.
The Himeyuri Student Corps—comprised of students age 15 to 19 from two local girls' schools and their teachers—had been mobilized as nursing aides during the Pacific War's bloodiest battle.
Swept up in the chaos, they were later disbanded by military order, left to wander the battlefield with no shelter, and many lost their lives.
From elementary school, these students had been steeped in militaristic education. The notion of defying orders or fleeing conscription simply never entered their minds. When the military abandoned them, there was nowhere left to run.
Survivors of the corps have spent decades bearing witness, determined to convey the harrowing realities they endured. They speak not only for themselves, but for the classmates who never made it home.
In a commemorative publication released in 2010, Tsuru Motomura (1925–2023), a survivor of the student corps and former director of the Himeyuri Peace Museum, who died two years ago at the age of 97, reflected with others on their shared commitment to passing the memory of the war on to future generations.
As part of that effort, they visited Takeshi Nakatani, the sole official Japanese-speaking guide at Poland's Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which is dedicated to educating visitors about the Nazi death camps.
They were deeply moved by his words.
It was through this encounter that they realized: Even without having lived through such atrocities, one can still bear witness.
That understanding gave them the resolve to entrust the mission of remembrance to those who would follow.
June 23 is Okinawa Memorial Day, a commemorative date established by Okinawa Prefecture to honor those who perished in the Battle of Okinawa.
Now, 80 years after the brutal conflict, a vital question remains: How can we ensure the memory of the Himeyuri tragedy is carried forward?
So long as the stories are told, future generations can grasp the true face of war—and imagine that it is ordinary people who are caught in its path and sacrificed.
Coincidentally, on June 22, Japan time, the U.S. military announced it had conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Watching U.S. President Donald Trump boast of the strikes as a 'spectacular military success,' I did not think that he saw the people who have gotten caught up.
We owe thanks to the survivors of Himeyuri.
Because they shared their stories, we can imagine what it was like for those who lived through war. And we are able, once again, to renew our resolve that this must never be repeated.
—The Asahi Shimbun, June 23
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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