My Post-War Experience: Living with a Hungry Spirit
Ms. Michiko Uehara
Birth year：1935
Birth place：Itoman City
Evacuation to Yanbaru My father was called to serve in the Defense Corps around October 1944.I was a third gra […]
Road to International Peace from Mabuni
Mr. Zenichi Yoshimine
Birth year：1932
Birth place：Naha City
When the war ended I was on the hill of Mabuni on June 23, 1945. I think it was around June 25. A Japanese sol […]
Unchike sabira ( “Do not worry, I will show you the way.”)
Ms. Yasuko Onaga
Birth year：1929
Birth place：Naha City
A complete change in daily life On February 27th, 1945, the residents of Mawashi Village were ordered to move […]
My Post-War Years as an Educator: Instilling a New Ideas
Mr. Touroku Oshiro
Birth year：1930
Birth place：Itoman City
Prewar education The Battle of Okinawa started when I was 15 years old in the second grade of national school’ […]
My Post-War Years and the Sea
Mr. Hideo Nakamura
Birth year：1929
Birth place：Motobu Town
The October 10th air raids: Rescuing the crew of a sunk warship In July 1944, I passed the Naval Aviator Prepa […]
American Internment and My Post-War Life
Mr. Shotoku Asato
Birth year：1930
Birth place：Peru
Before the war I was born in Lima, Peru. I attended a Japanese elementary school in Peru for half a year when […]
A Better Life Through Ladies’ Groups After the War
Ms. Keiko Matsuda
Birth year：1927
Birth place：Yomitan Village
A life of evacuation I was 18 years old at the time of the war. I did not have much concern about the war. My […]
Rebuilding the Hometown School
Mr. Kanyu Iha
Birth year：1928
Birth place：Yomitan Village
Military base in Zakimi Castle In 1944, six Japanese anti-aircraft guns were installed atop Zakimi Castle. We […]
Henza City and My Life After the War
Mr. Shokou Okudara
Birth year：1929
Birth place：Henza, Uruma City
Taken captive during evacuations As we evacuated southwards, we were stopped at Ishikawa. There was a civilian […]
The Changing Life of the Islands and Treasures to Preserve
Ms. Tomi Ito
Birth year：1928
Birth place：Henza, Uruma City
The end of the war in mainland Japan I was in Osaka when the war broke out. When the war ended, I was in Toyam […]
My Life during Yonaguni’s Prosperous Era
Ms. Chieko Nagahama
Birth year：1933
Birth place：Yonaguni Town
Yonaguni air raids My father died when I was young. Supporting three children alone, life really was difficul […]
A Fisherman’s Wife and her Vital Role as a Homemaker
Ms. Hatsuko Otomo
Birth year：1935
Birth place：Yonaguni Town
Air raids in Kubura I was in the third year of National School at the time of the Battle of Okinawa. The very […]
Crossing the Manchurian Deadline
Mr. Keisei Kawamitsu
Birth year：1933
Birth place：Miyakojima City
Emigration to Manchuria as a pioneer group My home village of Karimata on Miyako Island was not very wealthy a […]
Me, a Sashiba (Grey-faced Buzzard), and an Octopus Trap
Mr. Keikichi Yamazato
Birth year：1943
Birth place：Miyakojima City
Families during wartime and my scars I was born in 1943, in Nikadori on Miyako Island. My father was a farmer, […]
My Post-War Life in Taira
Mr. Tokujiro Shimabukuro
Birth year：1936
Birth place：Nago City
Leaving for my father’s birthplace Okinawa In the latter half of 1943, I traveled from Tokunoshima in Ka […]
Life in Yanbaru in Wartime
Ms. Hatsuko Higa
Birth year：1929
Birth place：Nago City
Life at Kushi National School During the Battle of Okinawa, I was a second-year at national school’s higher co […]
Becoming a Dressmaker: My Life After the War
Ms. Tomiko Nakamura
Birth year：1934
Birth place：Haebaru City
When I was a little girl My father farmed, and my mother wove textiles. I helped my mother, doing things that […]
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 […]
Ie Island: A Battered Island
Mr. Seitoku Shimabukuro
Birth year：1937
Birth place：Ie Village
Ie Island before the war Intensified During the Battle of Okinawa, I was seven years old and a first-year stud […]
Ie Island During and After the War
Mr. Kamekichi Uchima
Birth year：1937
Birth place：Ie Village
Ie Island before the war intensified I was seven years old during the Battle of Okinawa. In 1943, the construc […]
Hardships of the Taiwanese Immigrants Who Pioneered the Yaeyama Islands
Mr. Nagamasa Shimada
Birth year：1944
Birth place：Ishigaki City
Immigrating from Taiwan with family I was born in Ohara on Iriomote Island, raised in Takeda on Ishigaki Islan […]
Armistice, Defeat, the End of War, and My Post-war Years
Mr. Yuzuru Masaki
Birth year：1934
Birth place：Ishigaki City
Evacuation to Taiwan My father worked at a meteorological observatory. At the time, it was the Ishigaki Island […]
The War in Yaeyama Islands through Pictures
Mr. Masamichi Shiohira
Birth year：1933
Birth place：Ishigaki City
Yaeyama before the war intensified I was born in Ishigaki Island in 1933. My family were my parents, grandmoth […]
Two Faces of America: Land Requisition and Agricultural Advancement in Hawaii
Mr. Zenyu Shimabukuro
Birth year：1936
Birth place：Okinawa City
My father’s resistance to land requisition Immediately after the end of the war, the US military forbade […]
Repatriation from Saipan
Mr. Masao Arime
Birth year：1931
Birth place：Saipan
Life in Saipan Island I was born in Saipan on August 6th, 1931, when it was under Japanese occupation. My fami […]
Crossing the Faraway Ocean: My Life After the War
Mr. Kinzo Sunagawa
Birth year：1928
Birth place：Miyakojima City
Heading for Taiwan from Miyako during the war I was born in Miyako Island near Harimizu Port (Hirara Port) in […]
Okinawa Airakuen: Keeping Alive the Lights and Shadows
Mr. Jinyu Taira
Birth year：1939
Birth place：Kumejima Town
Wartime Kume Island and my lifestyle I was born in Kume Island in 1939. I had my parents and seven siblings. I […]
A Life Working With Bashofu
Ms. Toshiko Taira
Birth year：1920
Birth place：Ogimi Village
My childhood in Kijoka I was born in Kijoka, Ogimi Village. All the people of Kijoka were involved in making b […]
My Post-war Experience as a Tsushima-maru Survivor
Ms. Keiko Taira
Birth year：1934
Birth place：Kunigami Village
Life in Kunigami Village I was born in 1934 in a village called Aha in Kunigami. Before the war, everyone in t […]
Left Behind on the Battlefield
Mr. Satoshige Kuba
Birth year：1935
Birth place：Naha City
Taking shelter instead of evacuating I was in the fourth grade of Normal School during the war. I was supposed […]