Today was a jam-packed and very fun day! So, in the morning both Okaasan and Otousan had stuff to do, so at first I was home alone but then my host nieces came over — we were watching TV and I was crocheting and one of my host nieces was really enthralled by my crocheting so I taught her the crochet basics, which was very fun. After lunch, for which we had Yakisoba (the actual name for what I had called Hakka noodles), sandwiches, and leftovers, Okaasan, Otousan and I left for the 平和祈念公園 (Heiwakinen Memorial Park, literally “Peace Prayer.”)

So, on the way I asked Otousan about Japanese license plates, and realized that they give a lot more information about the car than American licenses do! First of all, the number, as oppose to American 7 character license plates, starts with the first Hirangana letter and then a number (at first one digit.). So, the first car registered would be あ1. It goes through 1-9, then to the next Hiragana letter, and once all those are done it goes back to the first letter but this time 2 digits, namely あ11. Anyway, apart from the number each license plate has a color, which signifies the purpose of the vehicle. Green is commercial busses/taxis/trucks, yellow is the average-person’s car, and white is a private (I am assuming that mean’s company owned) car. On top of that, on the top of the license plate there is the prefecture name, Okinawa, and then a number, which is a ranking of the size and likely other attributes of the car.

So, anyway, the Memorial Park has many parts to it, so we went to the Peace Hall first, and then the museum. So, first of all, the whole Memorial Park is built on top of Hill of Mabuni, the final front of the Battle of Okinawa and also the place from which many Japanese soldiers committed suicide by jumping into the ocean, as oppose to facing American gunfire, capture, and/or torture. And it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, a large, vast, very well-maintained park with trees, grass, and a fabulous view of the ocean (though I did not find out about that until later.)

Anyway, the Peace Hall was very nice; it had many AMAZING works of art dedicated to peace, and in the center of the room had twenty painting by Japanese artist Keiyu Nishimura, many of them centered specifically around certain WW2 events, all expressing a true passion for peace and a desire that none of this gets repeated again. In the center was a huge, 12 m tall statue of a person with his/her hands joined in prayer, representing human peace, despite race, religion, etc. above it were tiny lights representing the cosmos, where all the war’s dead rested, and around it were many many various posters, Origami and other forms of art made by schoolchildren representing peace. The statue was made by a 72 year old after he lost two of his sons in the war. It was made out of pure lacquer and took him till he was 90. Oh, and the Peace Hall itself it built as a regular septagon, representing the seven seas, and in such a way that it resembles hands praying.

After that, we went to the museum, which was very very nice. It started in the Ryukan period and went through the history of Okinawa, focusing mainly on WW2 and post-war life. Anyway, one thing I found today was that the Ryukan Empire, in addition to having no army, also had no samurais or any such thing in the past. Except for the monarchy, there were no major class distinctions, and everyone was largely equal. Which astonished me because in the Peace Park, one could definitely feel the Okinawan’s (or those who believe in the park) passion for peace, and in the past they had actually participated in a practical expression of peace, aka equality! Anyway, the exhibits were actually very very jarring, and the destruction of WW2 and all the atrocities were unimaginable. During the Battle of Okinawa, many civilians hid in Gama Caves, Stalinists caves all over Okinawa. Well, US soldiers brutally shot flamethrowers through the caves, frying everyone inside. And not just US soldiers, even Japanese soldiers were hugely brutal — they would kill crying kids on the spot (because civilians and soldiers were intermingled in the chaos of the war) so as not to reveal their presence to US soldiers, and they would kill anyone speaking Okinawan, because they may be spying for the US. It was all very very sad, not the cruelty of any one side, but the destruction caused by the war.

Anyway, after the exhibits, we came out into a very open, large, white, tranquil room with huge windows (actually no walls, only windows practically) showing the beautiful Okinawan sea. And I though “What a better way to end a Peace Museum than a view of tranquil nature!”. But that 気持ち (I am sorry, this is one Japanese word that truly describes my feeling and I have no idea how to translate it into English, probably good, satisfied, pleasant feeling) was short lived because Okaasan told me this was the very place people jumped off to commit suicide (and the last view they ever saw.). And that is when I realized the room was so tranquil and peaceful but underlied with the wounds of war — it made me realize the true depth of the Okinawan’s/Japanese desire for peace. The wounds of war may not have healed, and will never heal, but they are channelling the sadness of those wounds into a very positive hope for the world, and there is no better way to represent that than having the most tranquil place in the world (the view was probably the most beautiful and tranquil one I had ever seen) be the same place of all those deaths, murders, suicide, pain, sadness, and loss?

Anyway then we went outside to the actual Memorial, which was rows of monoliths engraved with the names of those who were killed in the Battle of Okinawa, regardless of side or nationality, one whole column is those from Okibawa, separated by village, then next is those from the rest of Japan, separated by prefecture, and the next is those from other countries, separated by country. They also have a separate area where they add names every year of those who died in the war and were finally found, identified, and named by the families. (Not the bodies of course, but the fact that they died in the Battle of Okinawa.)

After that we went to have ice cream. So, today I had Sugar-Cane ice cream (Sugar Cane is one of the largest exports of Okinawa.). I am trying to have as many unique flavors of ice-cream as I can have here — so far I have had sugar cane, ube, which is a kind of sweet potato grown in water, and shiqwasa, a citrus-type fruit (I think.)

Anyway after that we went to another famous war memorial nearby which was actually two still existent Gama Caves, which were actually turned into hospitals by high school girls and guys caring for the wounded.

Anyway, after that we came home, and then Okaasan and I went to Kokusai Street. Now, initially I had thought I would have been fine on my own, and while I still think I would have and do intend to walk there again by myself later and shop ( because we went in the evening today and a lot of the stores were closing, ) I am glad I went with Okaasan. She had a good eye for cheap stuff and had connections, which gave us even larger discounts. It was, or stall, very nice shopping and a very nice day. Goodnight!