Itokazu Abuchiragama is a cave shelter in Itokazu, Tamagusuku Village, in the southern part of Okinawa Island. Members of the Himeyuri Student Corps and others were assigned there, and the 270-meter cave was filled with more than 600 sick and wounded soldiers. After the hospital withdrew, it became a mixed refuge for approximately 00 residents of Itokazu, surviving wounded soldiers, and Japanese troops. They were subjected to U.S. attacks intended to bury them alive and burn them out, resulting in deaths and injuries.
Today, apart from the stairs and handrails at the entrance, the interior of the cave remains as it was at the time. Entering that damp, pitch-black space with a flashlight in hand is overwhelming. The cave is divided into areas for the hospital, a morgue, a kitchen, and other purposes. It is beyond imagination that people lived in such a place. I could not bring myself to take photographs; it would have felt disrespectful.
The U.S. military landed in central Okinawa Island in 1945, on April 1, and the Battle of Okinawa began. Thereafter, in every 4 residents, 1 was massacred. There were reportedly elements of exemplary punishment and revenge as well. Most of the victims were civilians.
War must never be waged.
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