The Judicial Path: Towards Human Rights
Mr. Saneyoshi Furugen
Birth year：1929
Birth place：Kunigaimi Village
From childhood to normal school
I was born in Ada, Kunigami Village in northern Okinawa. My father died of an illness when I was little. My mother was a hard worker, and did her very best to raise us alone and without making us worry. I had three brothers and one younger sister, who was the youngest child. I was the second youngest child. In April 1944, I entered Okinawa Normal School in Shuri. We only had one week of classes in the second term. Then suddenly, without any explanation, we were forced to construct military bases, steering us toward war. On March 23, 1945, our entire student body of the normal school took refuge at Ryukon go shelter, right when the air raid on Okinawa by the U.S. had begun. That was the start of the Battle of Okinawa.
Drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps
On March 31, we received draft orders from military headquarters. The Blood and Iron Student Corps was formed and we received orders from headquarters to carry out various duties. There was a power generation facility at headquarters, and 20 of us first year students were put in charge of supplying water to cool the generator machines. Lieutenant General Ushijima led the 32nd Army from underground headquarters which was pitch black ten meters into the cave. Turning on the lights in the generation facility seemed simple, but it was an important duty. The war deteriorated and many Iron and Blood Imperial Corps died. In the middle of the night of May 4, my classmate and I pulled water from a well and carried it to the power generation facility. We did this several times until we filled a drum can, and then took a break before repeating the process. We had just filled the drum can, so I jumped down to a hallow in the ground next to the generator to take a break. Shortly after, gunfire exploded nearby, disfiguring my classmate’s neck and shoulders, killing him instantly. That type of thing would happen nearby. On May 27, the army decided to retreat to the south. We took turns in groups of four carrying friends who had lost two toes and couldn’t walk. I saw a six-month old baby crawling on the chest of its dead mother on a ridge between fields as if it were being chased by something. I don’t know what happened to that baby afterwards. Did it survive the war? Was it rescued by someone who was passing by? Did it use up all of its energy and die? Did it get hit by naval artillery and die on its mother’s chest? I considered all kinds of things about what could have happened. When I look back on the war, I think about that baby. We travelled through that hell, from Shuri to Mabuni in Itoman City.
Disbandment order and the principal’s message
On June 18, our corps was ordered to disband. Since the Japanese army was still in the north, we received an order from headquarters to break through the front line and meet up with the army. On the night of the day after receiving the order to disband, we formed a small team of three or four people, and were thinking of how to make our way to the north. That’s when Principal Noda, Commissioned Officer Iguchi, and an upperclassman named Kohagura came around to where we were, an area behind a large rock. The principal gave us his last words. With his left hand, he showed us his memo pad and said the following: “We’ve already had more than 110 casualties. You young ones will be taking over Okinawa. You must not die. You must survive at any cost.” We were only first years, but his message gave us the strength to survive. I still recall those words from time to time to this day.
Taken prisoner at Mabuni
On June 22, we decided to break through the front line. We crawled along the coast, and as we climbed up, we saw American soldiers with guns standing at the top, so we hid ourselves. It was still dusk and not fully dark, and as we moved to break through that area, we encountered the American soldiers with guns and became prisoners. We were taken from Mabuni to Yaka prison camp in Kin.
Sent to Hawaii bare naked
Ten days passed, and many prisoners were transported by truck from Yaka camp to about the area of Chatan, Kadena, and Yomitan. A big transport ship was anchored off the coast, and after taking a landing craft to the ship, we got on the ship. The ship had a storage area, and that’s where we were dropped off. We were forced to stand there. There was powdered cement on the floor. We all began to feel disgusted and as we stood there, an interpreter (a second generation Japanese American) came and told us that this would be our room until we reached our destination, and he left. There were about 30-40 people in that room, and I think there were several other rooms just like it. Once every two or three days, we were brought to the deck and bathed in seawater. We weren’t even given underwear and were bare naked. Meals were given twice a day, which was rice in one bucket and side dishes in another. White rice was distributed by being placed into our bare hands and the side was placed on top, and we ate it trying not to spill it. There was no place to wash our hands so we just licked our hands. The transport ship brought us to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Our short-sleeved shirts and pants that were taken from us when we boarded the ship had been washed and bundled and were thrown back at us at random. When we landed, we were clothed rather than fully naked. That day was July 20, and it was our first day as prisoners in a foreign country. In Hawaii, there had been many people from Okinawa, both before the war and after. Those people would sneak food to us through the barbed wire fencing surrounding the camp. They would do this secretly, hiding from the military police, as an expression of encouragement. Seeing them encourage us through the barbed wire fence was so moving that I shed tears. I wasn’t in just one camp. I moved a few times, and wound up at four different camps. There was a lot of work to do in the prison camps, such as cutting grass on base or carrying garbage to a truck and doing laundry. There was a transport plane that carried goods between Okinawa and Hawaii, and I cleaned it for some time. I would clean it up when it came from Okinawa, and do any necessary cleaning before it left Hawaii. That’s the type of work they had us do. There were times when I thought to myself that I could go back to Okinawa if I hid inside that plane.
The end of the war
One day, there was an uproar coming from the American guard lodgings. We could see them from inside the barbed wire fence and about 30 minutes later, a Japanese interpreter came by and told us that Japan had lost and surrendered. That’s when I realized that the uproar was the U.S. soldiers celebrating the end of the war. After hearing that Japan had surrendered, I felt for the first time that we wouldn’t be killed, and that I could continue to live on. We thought that we could go back to Okinawa right away and that there was no need to keep us prisoner. But our lives in the camp continued for more than one year after that.
Going home and post-war life
Around late October of the following year, 1946, we left Hawaii for Uraga in Tokyo Bay to transfer to an LST headed for Okinawa. We were finally able to return to Okinawa on November 9. We arrived at Kubasaki in Nakagusuku and were loaded in a vehicle the next day headed for Kunigami. I spent the day walking from Yona in Kunigami back to my hometown of Ada in Kunigami. When I came back to Ada, my classmates and juniors were studying at a school, which was called “high school.” The normal school I attended was abolished, so I didn’t have any school to go back to. My studies were taken away from me due to the war, so I wanted to study. I made a request to start over as a second year, and I was admitted into Hentona High School. That was the day my post-war life in my home town began. While called a high school, we didn’t have any decent school textbooks or a blackboard. Plywood painted in black was used as a blackboard then. That was what high schools were like then. My wife was a high school classmate. In the second semester, I was council president and my wife was vice president. In 1950, we were members of the University of the Ryukyus’ inaugural class. My wife entered the University of the Ryukyus, too. In September of my sophomore year, I went to Tokyo. While struggling with studying for entrance exams while also working, I was admitted into Kansai University. While wondering about my major, the Okinawa People’s Party, led by Kamejiro Senaga, was being severely oppressed by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands.
Anger and resolve over US occupation
According to US military court, those without an attorney would end up facing an unfair sentencing. In response to that, Mr. Kamejiro Senaga asked for help from several famous Okinawan attorneys to pick up the Okinawa People’s Party’s case. But undertaking their case meant that the attorney would also face retaliation from the US, so nobody was willing to help. The party attended the trial without an attorney, and a court decision was reached. That’s what was reported in a newspaper article. I couldn’t accept that such an injustice was taking place in Okinawa under US control. I felt angry towards the injustice and decided on the path I wanted to take. I made the decision to become an attorney after studying law, and walk the path of justice doing what I could to contribute to the good of the people of Okinawa for peace and democracy. After graduating from Kansai University, I took a civil service examination to become a court clerk for the Government of the Ryukyu Islands.
A message for young people
As you can see from the Battle of Okinawa, wars can’t be stopped by building bases, positioning troops, and preparing for war. That is clear as day when considering the hell of The Battle of Okinawa. We must not make such a mistake again. The Constitution of Japan states clearly that we shall never walk the path of war again. No matter what happens, we must head towards that path expressed in the Constitution without stopping, and work to achieve a peaceful world in which the people play a leading role. You young people are the ones who will bear that responsibility, and I want you to understand that.
Mr. Saneyoshi Furugen served as a member of the Legislature of the Government of the Ryukyu Islands and a chief secretary of the Okinawa People’s Party during the years of U.S. occupation following the war. He served in the Prefectural Assembly and House of Representatives following Okinawa’s reversion to Japan. Based on his own experiences as a survivor of the Battle of Okinawa, Mr. Furugen has been active in anti-war and peace movements as well as work involving U.S. military base and human rights issues. Even after retirement, Mr. Furugen still feels a strong duty to continue speaking about the Battle of Okinawa.
From childhood to normal school
I was born in Ada, Kunigami Village in northern Okinawa. My father died of an illness when I was little. My mother was a hard worker, and did her very best to raise us alone and without making us worry. I had three brothers and one younger sister, who was the youngest child. I was the second youngest child. In April 1944, I entered Okinawa Normal School in Shuri. We only had one week of classes in the second term. Then suddenly, without any explanation, we were forced to construct military bases, steering us toward war. On March 23, 1945, our entire student body of the normal school took refuge at Ryukon go shelter, right when the air raid on Okinawa by the U.S. had begun. That was the start of the Battle of Okinawa.
Drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps
On March 31, we received draft orders from military headquarters. The Blood and Iron Student Corps was formed and we received orders from headquarters to carry out various duties. There was a power generation facility at headquarters, and 20 of us first year students were put in charge of supplying water to cool the generator machines. Lieutenant General Ushijima led the 32nd Army from underground headquarters which was pitch black ten meters into the cave. Turning on the lights in the generation facility seemed simple, but it was an important duty. The war deteriorated and many Iron and Blood Imperial Corps died. In the middle of the night of May 4, my classmate and I pulled water from a well and carried it to the power generation facility. We did this several times until we filled a drum can, and then took a break before repeating the process. We had just filled the drum can, so I jumped down to a hallow in the ground next to the generator to take a break. Shortly after, gunfire exploded nearby, disfiguring my classmate’s neck and shoulders, killing him instantly. That type of thing would happen nearby. On May 27, the army decided to retreat to the south. We took turns in groups of four carrying friends who had lost two toes and couldn’t walk. I saw a six-month old baby crawling on the chest of its dead mother on a ridge between fields as if it were being chased by something. I don’t know what happened to that baby afterwards. Did it survive the war? Was it rescued by someone who was passing by? Did it use up all of its energy and die? Did it get hit by naval artillery and die on its mother’s chest? I considered all kinds of things about what could have happened. When I look back on the war, I think about that baby. We travelled through that hell, from Shuri to Mabuni in Itoman City.
Disbandment order and the principal’s message
On June 18, our corps was ordered to disband. Since the Japanese army was still in the north, we received an order from headquarters to break through the front line and meet up with the army. On the night of the day after receiving the order to disband, we formed a small team of three or four people, and were thinking of how to make our way to the north. That’s when Principal Noda, Commissioned Officer Iguchi, and an upperclassman named Kohagura came around to where we were, an area behind a large rock. The principal gave us his last words. With his left hand, he showed us his memo pad and said the following: “We’ve already had more than 110 casualties. You young ones will be taking over Okinawa. You must not die. You must survive at any cost.” We were only first years, but his message gave us the strength to survive. I still recall those words from time to time to this day.
Taken prisoner at Mabuni
On June 22, we decided to break through the front line. We crawled along the coast, and as we climbed up, we saw American soldiers with guns standing at the top, so we hid ourselves. It was still dusk and not fully dark, and as we moved to break through that area, we encountered the American soldiers with guns and became prisoners. We were taken from Mabuni to Yaka prison camp in Kin.
Sent to Hawaii bare naked
Ten days passed, and many prisoners were transported by truck from Yaka camp to about the area of Chatan, Kadena, and Yomitan. A big transport ship was anchored off the coast, and after taking a landing craft to the ship, we got on the ship. The ship had a storage area, and that’s where we were dropped off. We were forced to stand there. There was powdered cement on the floor. We all began to feel disgusted and as we stood there, an interpreter (a second generation Japanese American) came and told us that this would be our room until we reached our destination, and he left. There were about 30-40 people in that room, and I think there were several other rooms just like it. Once every two or three days, we were brought to the deck and bathed in seawater. We weren’t even given underwear and were bare naked. Meals were given twice a day, which was rice in one bucket and side dishes in another. White rice was distributed by being placed into our bare hands and the side was placed on top, and we ate it trying not to spill it. There was no place to wash our hands so we just licked our hands. The transport ship brought us to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Our short-sleeved shirts and pants that were taken from us when we boarded the ship had been washed and bundled and were thrown back at us at random. When we landed, we were clothed rather than fully naked. That day was July 20, and it was our first day as prisoners in a foreign country. In Hawaii, there had been many people from Okinawa, both before the war and after. Those people would sneak food to us through the barbed wire fencing surrounding the camp. They would do this secretly, hiding from the military police, as an expression of encouragement. Seeing them encourage us through the barbed wire fence was so moving that I shed tears. I wasn’t in just one camp. I moved a few times, and wound up at four different camps. There was a lot of work to do in the prison camps, such as cutting grass on base or carrying garbage to a truck and doing laundry. There was a transport plane that carried goods between Okinawa and Hawaii, and I cleaned it for some time. I would clean it up when it came from Okinawa, and do any necessary cleaning before it left Hawaii. That’s the type of work they had us do. There were times when I thought to myself that I could go back to Okinawa if I hid inside that plane.
The end of the war
One day, there was an uproar coming from the American guard lodgings. We could see them from inside the barbed wire fence and about 30 minutes later, a Japanese interpreter came by and told us that Japan had lost and surrendered. That’s when I realized that the uproar was the U.S. soldiers celebrating the end of the war. After hearing that Japan had surrendered, I felt for the first time that we wouldn’t be killed, and that I could continue to live on. We thought that we could go back to Okinawa right away and that there was no need to keep us prisoner. But our lives in the camp continued for more than one year after that.
Going home and post-war life
Around late October of the following year, 1946, we left Hawaii for Uraga in Tokyo Bay to transfer to an LST headed for Okinawa. We were finally able to return to Okinawa on November 9. We arrived at Kubasaki in Nakagusuku and were loaded in a vehicle the next day headed for Kunigami. I spent the day walking from Yona in Kunigami back to my hometown of Ada in Kunigami. When I came back to Ada, my classmates and juniors were studying at a school, which was called “high school.” The normal school I attended was abolished, so I didn’t have any school to go back to. My studies were taken away from me due to the war, so I wanted to study. I made a request to start over as a second year, and I was admitted into Hentona High School. That was the day my post-war life in my home town began. While called a high school, we didn’t have any decent school textbooks or a blackboard. Plywood painted in black was used as a blackboard then. That was what high schools were like then. My wife was a high school classmate. In the second semester, I was council president and my wife was vice president. In 1950, we were members of the University of the Ryukyus’ inaugural class. My wife entered the University of the Ryukyus, too. In September of my sophomore year, I went to Tokyo. While struggling with studying for entrance exams while also working, I was admitted into Kansai University. While wondering about my major, the Okinawa People’s Party, led by Kamejiro Senaga, was being severely oppressed by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands.
Anger and resolve over US occupation
According to US military court, those without an attorney would end up facing an unfair sentencing. In response to that, Mr. Kamejiro Senaga asked for help from several famous Okinawan attorneys to pick up the Okinawa People’s Party’s case. But undertaking their case meant that the attorney would also face retaliation from the US, so nobody was willing to help. The party attended the trial without an attorney, and a court decision was reached. That’s what was reported in a newspaper article. I couldn’t accept that such an injustice was taking place in Okinawa under US control. I felt angry towards the injustice and decided on the path I wanted to take. I made the decision to become an attorney after studying law, and walk the path of justice doing what I could to contribute to the good of the people of Okinawa for peace and democracy. After graduating from Kansai University, I took a civil service examination to become a court clerk for the Government of the Ryukyu Islands.
A message for young people
As you can see from the Battle of Okinawa, wars can’t be stopped by building bases, positioning troops, and preparing for war. That is clear as day when considering the hell of The Battle of Okinawa. We must not make such a mistake again. The Constitution of Japan states clearly that we shall never walk the path of war again. No matter what happens, we must head towards that path expressed in the Constitution without stopping, and work to achieve a peaceful world in which the people play a leading role. You young people are the ones who will bear that responsibility, and I want you to understand that.
Mr. Saneyoshi Furugen served as a member of the Legislature of the Government of the Ryukyu Islands and a chief secretary of the Okinawa People’s Party during the years of U.S. occupation following the war. He served in the Prefectural Assembly and House of Representatives following Okinawa’s reversion to Japan. Based on his own experiences as a survivor of the Battle of Okinawa, Mr. Furugen has been active in anti-war and peace movements as well as work involving U.S. military base and human rights issues. Even after retirement, Mr. Furugen still feels a strong duty to continue speaking about the Battle of Okinawa.