Peace: Okinawa and Kyushu
This winter, I had the chance to travel to Okinawa and Kyushu. I have posts about the trip, but I wanted to make a separate post for this topic.
Peace Memorial Park & Okinawa Prefecture Peace Memorial Museum
沖縄県堂平和祈念公園、沖縄県平和祈念資料館
Park: http://kouen.heiwa-irei-okinawa.jp
Museum: http://www.peace-museum.pref.okinawa.jp/index.html
Located on the southern tip of Okinawa's Main Island, this park and museum is an unforgettable experience. On a relatively small piece of land, 200,000 people died during the battle for the Island during the war between Japan and the USA. I was impressed by how the museum and park has been set up to show how war negatively effected everyone involved - not just Okinawans or Japanese people. The images and stories are haunting. The graveyard includes graves of Okinawan, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, American, and other people. The park is beautiful and urges people to pray for peace. It does not, however, shy away from telling stories. You can read eye-witness accounts or watch recorded interviews with survivors, although getting through them is difficult.
Although not everyone agrees on the best way to maintain peace, Okinawa has certainly had a history of being impacted by war that was imposed on them. Even today Okinawa hosts several American armed forces bases, which often enter the national news for one reason or another. Recently, a helicopter drops some of its parts over an elementary school. There are often protests.
Okinawan culture has a very strong emphasis on peace, which is a really important message as tension rise between powers on all sides of the islands.
Nagasaki Peace Park
長崎の平和公園
I feel like this place is often overshadowed by Hiroshima, but Nagasaki's Peace Park is really thoughtfully put together. The park contains the hypocentre of the atomic bomb dropped on the city. Besides hosting a nightmarish museum, it has a fountain that contains the names of all of the victims of the nuclear attack on the city, and a variety of other memorials and information centres. The nearby Urakami Cathedral has been rebuilt, but presents another horrifying example of the atomic bomb attack. The pictures, stories, and relics collected in the peace museum tell the history of the single bomb. It is extremely difficult to spend time in the museum and see the picture and hear the stories, but it is important.
While traveling can be fun, it is also important to be challenged by things. I had the opportunity to visit these two parks within a week of one another - the Nagasaki Peace Park on New Years Day - and it really gives a fresh perspective on current events. They were both unforgettable, not that I'd like to go back anytime soon.
Peace Memorial Park & Okinawa Prefecture Peace Memorial Museum
沖縄県堂平和祈念公園、沖縄県平和祈念資料館
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| The Peace Fountain with a map of the world in it, looking out onto the ocean, hoping for a more peaceful world. |
Park: http://kouen.heiwa-irei-okinawa.jp
Museum: http://www.peace-museum.pref.okinawa.jp/index.html
Located on the southern tip of Okinawa's Main Island, this park and museum is an unforgettable experience. On a relatively small piece of land, 200,000 people died during the battle for the Island during the war between Japan and the USA. I was impressed by how the museum and park has been set up to show how war negatively effected everyone involved - not just Okinawans or Japanese people. The images and stories are haunting. The graveyard includes graves of Okinawan, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, American, and other people. The park is beautiful and urges people to pray for peace. It does not, however, shy away from telling stories. You can read eye-witness accounts or watch recorded interviews with survivors, although getting through them is difficult.
Although not everyone agrees on the best way to maintain peace, Okinawa has certainly had a history of being impacted by war that was imposed on them. Even today Okinawa hosts several American armed forces bases, which often enter the national news for one reason or another. Recently, a helicopter drops some of its parts over an elementary school. There are often protests.
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| Protests against the American armed forces base. |
Okinawan culture has a very strong emphasis on peace, which is a really important message as tension rise between powers on all sides of the islands.
Nagasaki Peace Park
長崎の平和公園
I feel like this place is often overshadowed by Hiroshima, but Nagasaki's Peace Park is really thoughtfully put together. The park contains the hypocentre of the atomic bomb dropped on the city. Besides hosting a nightmarish museum, it has a fountain that contains the names of all of the victims of the nuclear attack on the city, and a variety of other memorials and information centres. The nearby Urakami Cathedral has been rebuilt, but presents another horrifying example of the atomic bomb attack. The pictures, stories, and relics collected in the peace museum tell the history of the single bomb. It is extremely difficult to spend time in the museum and see the picture and hear the stories, but it is important.
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| Peace Memorial Statue with both "eastern" and "western" styling to try to promote peace and understanding. One hand to heaven to pray for help and one hand level to hope for peace. |
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| Urakami Cathedral |
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| A piece of Urakami Cathedral still where it was following the atomic bomb destruction. |
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| Atomic Bomb Hypocentre |
While traveling can be fun, it is also important to be challenged by things. I had the opportunity to visit these two parks within a week of one another - the Nagasaki Peace Park on New Years Day - and it really gives a fresh perspective on current events. They were both unforgettable, not that I'd like to go back anytime soon.
