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 family consisted of my father, mother, two older sisters, me, three younger sisters and one younger brother. My father made his living in agriculture and was such an excellent farmer that he led an agricultural organization. He was also the head of the local civil defense corps, and was responsible for delivering military orders to the local farmers. The Chacha National School that I attended did not have a shrine dedicated to the Emperor. Instead, the portraits of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress were placed in the altar in the principal’s office along with the Imperial Rescript on Education. Whenever there were ceremonies, the vice principle would take the case with the Imperial Rescript down from the altar. All students would stand still, heads bowed down in silence, as the principle read the contents to us. That’s what it was like back then. We had “tanbonage” (stick-throwing) classes beginning in the 6th grade or the first year of the national school’s higher course. We threw these 30 cm long sticks as if they were hand grenades, as part of our military training. We also hauled rice bales, which was an event in our sports day competitions. We would be tested on these events over and over again. We also had bamboo spear training, where we stabbed straw dolls with the names of US and Great Britain’s leaders. We were even taught the Army crawl. We took all of this military training very seriously.
Air raids in Saipan Island
At the time of the air raid of February 1944, I initially mistook the US Grumman aircraft flying above us for Japanese fighters. I thought the Japanese pilots were training. “Boy the training is impressive and realistic today,” I thought to myself as I looked on. But before I knew it, the air raid sirens began sounding off. The attack that day left the town of Garapan burned to the ground. And it was about four months from then that the U.S. forces landed on Okinawa. After that, the fighting intensified, and the tides turned against us. But even so, the Japanese military declared this to be a battle they could win. As head of the local civil defense corps, my father would put on his military uniform and leave the house when called upon. He could not afford to just look after his family. He told us about a natural cave located below a nearby shrine that was designated as an evacuation spot for our neighboring area and told us to take shelter there. I loaded our things on our ox cart, and placed our valuables in the shelter we made in front of our house. As the oldest son, it was my job to pull the cart. My mother led us all in our evacuation. The war really took off from there, and we were given orders to evacuate Chacha. By that time, my father had been relieved from his civil defense duties and evacuated with us. He carried two hand grenades with him. One was thrown at the enemy and the other was to be used to take our own lives. He also carried three sticks of dynamite with him at all times. That was the norm during the war.
Banzai Cliff
There is a place in Saipan known as “Banzai Cliff.” We were taught that being captured by enemy soldiers was a disgrace, so many cried “banzai” to the Emperor and jumped from the cliff to their death below. However, those who had jumped at high tide would survive. Students from the girls’ schools and vocational schools were trained in long-distance swimming, which involved swimming in the ocean, so they did not die so easily in the waters. In the case of families who tied each other’s bodies together, since everyone was twined together, they all died together unable to escape. In some cases, the father of the family would throw each family member into the sea, but those who could swim would survive. I saw three students survive the fall and climb ashore, an upper classman of a national school, a middle school student, and a girls’ school student. At the time the US troops and their tanks were close enough to be seen. Under such circumstances, we were attacked one after another. We fled to the mountains when they attacked the coast, and vice versa. We would flee back and forth like this, but I don’t know how or where we ran. My father was the leader of us refugees, and whenever something happened, he would tell us we should commit suicide. But my younger sister would refuse, saying she was afraid to die, so my mother said we could not force children to die if they were not ready. She said that she would only die after she saw all of her children off, and so we would avoid the act time and time again. One day, my father was walking at the rear of the group. He left us saying he had something to do, after which he never returned. As the leader, he told us every day that he would commit suicide. However, he couldn’t die, and his children were against suicide, so I believe that my father struggled with this intense internal conflict.
Taken prisoner near the beach
We ran to hide in a jungle along the shore near Banzai Cliff. That place became our final evacuation site. We could not leave or cross the ocean because there were soldiers nearby. There was a house nearby so we decided to head toward it and drink ourselves full with water before taking our own lives. At the house we found water and fruit called soursop. Just when we were settling in, the US troops surrounded us and took us all prisoner. These soldiers seemed much different than we had been told. My younger brother was hurt, so they wrapped him up in a blanket, treated his wounds and applied first aid. Only two members of my family were unharmed. I had a burn on my stomach from the shards of cannon fire. My younger brother died in the prison camp from tetanus caused by a shell fragment that pierced his knee during our evacuation. Our prisoner group was called “Group 13.” There were 15 groups of prisoners in total. It meant that we were some of the last prisoners taken. The prison camp was made when Group 1 was captured, and by the time we got there, we were the thirteenth group. When new prisoners arrived, hundreds of people would gather around the entrance gate. They were searching for their relatives and siblings. We were put in long, wooden houses with galvanized iron roofs. There were some Japanese working as cooks. We would all line up with bowls in hand as they served from buckets at mealtime.
Getting an education at Saipan Junior High School
There were elementary schools for each of the groups in the camp. Saipan Junior High School was created by gathering children selected from each school. I think there was a plan for American soldiers who could speak Japanese to teach English. Since there was only one junior high school in the camp, the students were three to four years apart in age. I didn’t do any military work because I was in junior high school. The education provided was based on American democracy, and a variety of educational practices were implemented. Because of that, the studies weren’t all that hard. This was where I learned about American democracy. But all the while, somewhere deep inside, I still felt like Japan could not, and would not lose the war.
Return to Okinawa and life after the war
After a year and a half in the camp, my family returned to Okinawa. In early 1946, we were loaded onto an American LST (landing ship tank) and returned to Okinawa from Saipan. Hundreds of people were packed inside the ship. After arriving in Okinawa, we spent our first day in the Kubasaki camp in Nakagusuku. After that, there was a tent hut where my mother’s younger brother lived, so we moved into the hut. It was called “kabaya.” From there, my life in Okinawa began. We received rations of flour and rice from the US forces and used them to cook at home.
Building our own school building
I attended Koza High School. The school was a large and tall Quonset (US military semi cylindrical barrack) built in the former US military barrack area. There were also thatched roofed and galvanized iron school buildings, all of which we built ourselves. We did all the work ourselves, using supplies that were given to us as well as those we collected. The Quonset school building was provided to us by the US army and located in Awase. All the students dismantled the Quonset, hauling it along a steep hill in Awase and we re-built it ourselves. To construct the Quonset we dug holes, and filled the foundation area with concrete and covered the area around it with soil. We set the foundation about one meter deep into the ground, so the Quonset stood much lower than other buildings, but it was strong against storms. It was the only building to remain after Typhoon Gloria hit in 1949.
High schools at the time employed a 4-year system, but this changed when the 6-3-3 system was adopted. Since I was in my 2nd year of high school at the time, I thought, under the new system, that I would graduate after that year. Instead, I had to remain a 2nd year for two years in a row. Students repeating their 2nd year were called “shin ninensei” (new 2nd Years), and we graduated after our 3rd year. So we had four years of high school in total. The school was called “Koza High School” when we first entered, and its name changed to “Koza Koto Gakko” by graduation.
Ageda, where I lived, was located near a river and stood lower than the surrounding areas and was entirely rice fields. After the war, roads were built over these rice fields and houses were lined up on both sides to form a town. When there was heavy rain fall, the area would be devastated by floods. The eastern side would flood and flow all the way to Ageda Elementary School, carrying the desks and chairs from inside the school building.
Koza High School had its own English language course and teacher training school. I didn’t intend to become a teacher and wanted to work in the military, so after graduating from high school, I took the English course for half a year. My connection with the school was that I was appointed as an English teacher there, but I have never taught English in elementary school. Instead, I was assigned duties involving negotiations with those outside the school. I went around various places to negotiate on the construction and management of the school.
A message for young people
I have a lot of hope for the youth today. I think the younger generation today are highly proactive. My generation took action against the US military no matter what we were told, but the younger generation is different. They express their views on Okinawan issues directly to the United Nations. My generation never thought of doing anything like that. Young people now are on a much higher-level playing field than we were. In that sense, I think that Uchinanchu (Okinawan people) have produced a strong generation of young people in spite of Okinawa’s somewhat unfortunate history.
Thereafter, Mr. Masao Arime served as an advisor for the teachers’ union for many years, helping improve the learning environment for children and protect their human rights. Following the war, he actively participated in various peace movements, including land-return movements and reversion movements.
Life in Saipan Island
I was born in Saipan on August 6th, 1931, when it was under Japanese occupation. My family consisted of my father, mother, two older sisters, me, three younger sisters and one younger brother. My father made his living in agriculture and was such an excellent farmer that he led an agricultural organization. He was also the head of the local civil defense corps, and was responsible for delivering military orders to the local farmers. The Chacha National School that I attended did not have a shrine dedicated to the Emperor. Instead, the portraits of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress were placed in the altar in the principal’s office along with the Imperial Rescript on Education. Whenever there were ceremonies, the vice principle would take the case with the Imperial Rescript down from the altar. All students would stand still, heads bowed down in silence, as the principle read the contents to us. That’s what it was like back then. We had “tanbonage” (stick-throwing) classes beginning in the 6th grade or the first year of the national school’s higher course. We threw these 30 cm long sticks as if they were hand grenades, as part of our military training. We also hauled rice bales, which was an event in our sports day competitions. We would be tested on these events over and over again. We also had bamboo spear training, where we stabbed straw dolls with the names of US and Great Britain’s leaders. We were even taught the Army crawl. We took all of this military training very seriously.
Air raids in Saipan Island
At the time of the air raid of February 1944, I initially mistook the US Grumman aircraft flying above us for Japanese fighters. I thought the Japanese pilots were training. “Boy the training is impressive and realistic today,” I thought to myself as I looked on. But before I knew it, the air raid sirens began sounding off. The attack that day left the town of Garapan burned to the ground. And it was about four months from then that the U.S. forces landed on Okinawa. After that, the fighting intensified, and the tides turned against us. But even so, the Japanese military declared this to be a battle they could win. As head of the local civil defense corps, my father would put on his military uniform and leave the house when called upon. He could not afford to just look after his family. He told us about a natural cave located below a nearby shrine that was designated as an evacuation spot for our neighboring area and told us to take shelter there. I loaded our things on our ox cart, and placed our valuables in the shelter we made in front of our house. As the oldest son, it was my job to pull the cart. My mother led us all in our evacuation. The war really took off from there, and we were given orders to evacuate Chacha. By that time, my father had been relieved from his civil defense duties and evacuated with us. He carried two hand grenades with him. One was thrown at the enemy and the other was to be used to take our own lives. He also carried three sticks of dynamite with him at all times. That was the norm during the war.
Banzai Cliff
There is a place in Saipan known as “Banzai Cliff.” We were taught that being captured by enemy soldiers was a disgrace, so many cried “banzai” to the Emperor and jumped from the cliff to their death below. However, those who had jumped at high tide would survive. Students from the girls’ schools and vocational schools were trained in long-distance swimming, which involved swimming in the ocean, so they did not die so easily in the waters. In the case of families who tied each other’s bodies together, since everyone was twined together, they all died together unable to escape. In some cases, the father of the family would throw each family member into the sea, but those who could swim would survive. I saw three students survive the fall and climb ashore, an upper classman of a national school, a middle school student, and a girls’ school student. At the time the US troops and their tanks were close enough to be seen. Under such circumstances, we were attacked one after another. We fled to the mountains when they attacked the coast, and vice versa. We would flee back and forth like this, but I don’t know how or where we ran. My father was the leader of us refugees, and whenever something happened, he would tell us we should commit suicide. But my younger sister would refuse, saying she was afraid to die, so my mother said we could not force children to die if they were not ready. She said that she would only die after she saw all of her children off, and so we would avoid the act time and time again. One day, my father was walking at the rear of the group. He left us saying he had something to do, after which he never returned. As the leader, he told us every day that he would commit suicide. However, he couldn’t die, and his children were against suicide, so I believe that my father struggled with this intense internal conflict.
Taken prisoner near the beach
We ran to hide in a jungle along the shore near Banzai Cliff. That place became our final evacuation site. We could not leave or cross the ocean because there were soldiers nearby. There was a house nearby so we decided to head toward it and drink ourselves full with water before taking our own lives. At the house we found water and fruit called soursop. Just when we were settling in, the US troops surrounded us and took us all prisoner. These soldiers seemed much different than we had been told. My younger brother was hurt, so they wrapped him up in a blanket, treated his wounds and applied first aid. Only two members of my family were unharmed. I had a burn on my stomach from the shards of cannon fire. My younger brother died in the prison camp from tetanus caused by a shell fragment that pierced his knee during our evacuation. Our prisoner group was called “Group 13.” There were 15 groups of prisoners in total. It meant that we were some of the last prisoners taken. The prison camp was made when Group 1 was captured, and by the time we got there, we were the thirteenth group. When new prisoners arrived, hundreds of people would gather around the entrance gate. They were searching for their relatives and siblings. We were put in long, wooden houses with galvanized iron roofs. There were some Japanese working as cooks. We would all line up with bowls in hand as they served from buckets at mealtime.
Getting an education at Saipan Junior High School
There were elementary schools for each of the groups in the camp. Saipan Junior High School was created by gathering children selected from each school. I think there was a plan for American soldiers who could speak Japanese to teach English. Since there was only one junior high school in the camp, the students were three to four years apart in age. I didn’t do any military work because I was in junior high school. The education provided was based on American democracy, and a variety of educational practices were implemented. Because of that, the studies weren’t all that hard. This was where I learned about American democracy. But all the while, somewhere deep inside, I still felt like Japan could not, and would not lose the war.
Return to Okinawa and life after the war
After a year and a half in the camp, my family returned to Okinawa. In early 1946, we were loaded onto an American LST (landing ship tank) and returned to Okinawa from Saipan. Hundreds of people were packed inside the ship. After arriving in Okinawa, we spent our first day in the Kubasaki camp in Nakagusuku. After that, there was a tent hut where my mother’s younger brother lived, so we moved into the hut. It was called “kabaya.” From there, my life in Okinawa began. We received rations of flour and rice from the US forces and used them to cook at home.
Building our own school building
I attended Koza High School. The school was a large and tall Quonset (US military semi cylindrical barrack) built in the former US military barrack area. There were also thatched roofed and galvanized iron school buildings, all of which we built ourselves. We did all the work ourselves, using supplies that were given to us as well as those we collected. The Quonset school building was provided to us by the US army and located in Awase. All the students dismantled the Quonset, hauling it along a steep hill in Awase and we re-built it ourselves. To construct the Quonset we dug holes, and filled the foundation area with concrete and covered the area around it with soil. We set the foundation about one meter deep into the ground, so the Quonset stood much lower than other buildings, but it was strong against storms. It was the only building to remain after Typhoon Gloria hit in 1949.
High schools at the time employed a 4-year system, but this changed when the 6-3-3 system was adopted. Since I was in my 2nd year of high school at the time, I thought, under the new system, that I would graduate after that year. Instead, I had to remain a 2nd year for two years in a row. Students repeating their 2nd year were called “shin ninensei” (new 2nd Years), and we graduated after our 3rd year. So we had four years of high school in total. The school was called “Koza High School” when we first entered, and its name changed to “Koza Koto Gakko” by graduation.
Ageda, where I lived, was located near a river and stood lower than the surrounding areas and was entirely rice fields. After the war, roads were built over these rice fields and houses were lined up on both sides to form a town. When there was heavy rain fall, the area would be devastated by floods. The eastern side would flood and flow all the way to Ageda Elementary School, carrying the desks and chairs from inside the school building.
Koza High School had its own English language course and teacher training school. I didn’t intend to become a teacher and wanted to work in the military, so after graduating from high school, I took the English course for half a year. My connection with the school was that I was appointed as an English teacher there, but I have never taught English in elementary school. Instead, I was assigned duties involving negotiations with those outside the school. I went around various places to negotiate on the construction and management of the school.
A message for young people
I have a lot of hope for the youth today. I think the younger generation today are highly proactive. My generation took action against the US military no matter what we were told, but the younger generation is different. They express their views on Okinawan issues directly to the United Nations. My generation never thought of doing anything like that. Young people now are on a much higher-level playing field than we were. In that sense, I think that Uchinanchu (Okinawan people) have produced a strong generation of young people in spite of Okinawa’s somewhat unfortunate history.
Thereafter, Mr. Masao Arime served as an advisor for the teachers’ union for many years, helping improve the learning environment for children and protect their human rights. Following the war, he actively participated in various peace movements, including land-return movements and reversion movements.