Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park

Observation tower view of memorial park garyhaller (Atlas Obscura User)

Beginning in late March, 1945 and ending on June 22, 1945, the Battle of Okinawa was a pivotal milestone in drawing a close to World War II in the Pacific Theater. It was the first time that one of the islands considered a Japanese homeland experienced an invasion and ground fighting.

The intense fighting due to well dug in positions of the Japanese resulted in nearly 50,000 U.S. casualties, over 100,000 Japanese soldiers killed, and another 100,000 Okinawan civilians killed. The example served by the Battle of Okinawa may have been instructive in the mindset of the war planners as they contemplated a full scale invasion of the larger Japanese home islands and ultimately the use of the atomic bombs to avoid such an invasion.

The immensity of the conflict on the island had an impact. The United States retained control of the island until 1972, when it was returned to Japan. In 1975, the Peace Memorial Park was created on Mabuni Hill where the battle ended. It is also adjacent to the cliffs where civilian Okinawans threw themselves off to avoid capture by the U.S. soldiers. The civilians had been told by the Imperial Japanese military that men captured would be drawn and quartered and women would be raped.

The park covers 58 acres and it is literally a memorial of memorials. It is like a cemetery but instead of there being a collection of individual graves, it is a collection of memorials commemorating some portion of the participants in the events of the battle. There are 30+ separate memorials all with different styles. Many of them are for the Japanese soldiers who were from a specific prefecture of Japan.

The largest memorial is the Cornerstone of Peace which is a commemoration of everyone who was killed in the battle—soldier or civilian. It has black stone walls with the names of all of the Japanese, American, and other countries soldiers who were killed as well as the names of all of the Okinawan civilians.

The Peace Museum includes exhibits and an excellent overlooking view of the memorial park grounds, the cliffs, and the Pacific Ocean.

Know Before You Go

Okinawa is a different side of Japan - more laid back than the Japanese cities of the larger islands.

Recommend visiting this site as part of a larger day tour visiting various sites affiliated with the Battle of Okinawa. Use an app to find a tour given by a local to find a good guide.