27/05/2026
In his book, The Battle for Okinawa, Colonel Hiromichi Yahara described his experiences as a senior staff officer for the 32nd Japanese army throughout the entirety of the Battle of Okinawa. Specifically, chapter 16 follows Yahara's retreat from the Tsukazan command post (Haebaru Town) to Hill 89 in Mabuni, Itoman City, in May of 1945. After traveling south through Kochinda and Sh*tahaku Villages (now both part of Yaese Town), Yahara describes the terrifying conditions of their movement south to Itoman, "Here we were beyond the range of enemy artillery shells from Shuri, but now the enemy ships off Itoman fired their frightful naval guns. The road was littered with munitions. A sugar cane factory still stood nearby. Our rear-area troops had been hit by enemy air attack, and the situation was even worse at the fork in the road leading to Itoman. Two trucks were overturned, and a horse aimlessly pulled an empty wagon. Big shells were exploding all over the area, raising billows of smoke."
Remarkably, the front gate posts to the sugar cane factory, which Yahara mentions, still exist. Thanks to the sharp eyes of my guests, we found not only bullet holes in the gate posts but also the remains of a bullet stuck inside them. Seeing how the physical scars of the Battle of Okinawa still exist 81 years later brought about a bunch of emotions. One part of me felt awe in how long these artifacts have remained in place, while at the same time, I felt a sense of melancholy about the absolute destruction these same artifacts created for all involved in the Battle.
