Remember the Himeyuri students  

The Himeyuri Monument is a memorial for Himeyuri students who died in the battle of Okinawa in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture.

The Himeyuri students were a group of students and teachers from the Okinawa Daiichi Women’s High School and Okinawa Shihan Women’s School that were formed into a nursing unit of 320 people. These women went out to the battlefield and worked as nursing personnel, and as the battles went on they continued working arduously in narrow and dark caves. They were only 17~18 but were responsible for helping with meals and handling of dead bodies, all for the sake of their country. Many died as a result of attacks by the American military, and they were finally dissolved by the Japanese army. What had actually happened is that the Himeyuri students had been abandoned by the Japanese army in the wake of losing the Battle of Okinawa, and they were suddenly thrust into the battlefield where many of them perished or committed suicide.

There are 211 names of the Himeyuri students on this monument, and 16 of them are enshrined here. The monument is a message for everyone to know the gruesome reality of the war in Okinawa.

Access

You can reach the monument by car from Naha Airport in about 30 minutes. Use the Okinawa Motorway, get off on the Tomigusuku IC (豊見城) and you’ll be there in 30min. Free parking available. From Itoman Bus Terminal (糸満バスターミナル) take the Tamaizumihora No. 82, or you can take the Nanbu Loop Line No. 107 or 108 and get off at the Himeyuri Monument stop (ひめゆりの塔前).