Okinawa Himeyuri Butai or Star Lily Corps

The Himeyuri Butai (Star Lily Corps).

     Okinawa Prefecture and another local government plan a campaign to preserve and put on display the "scars of World War II," such as air-raid shelters where high school girls forced to work as nurses committed mass suicide.

     Organized in March 1945 in the face of the Allied forces' invasion of Okinawa, the Himeyuri Butai (Star Lily Corps) is well known as a symbol of World War II tragedy in Japan because of the members' miserable fate.

     Many of the members, composed of high school girls and other school students, committed suicide to avoid being captured in April 1945, when Japan faced defeat.

     The Haebaru Municipal Government, south of the prefectural capital, Naha, named the local army hospital air-raid shelters cultural assets in 1990.

     During the war, several Himeyuri Butai girls took care of Japanese soldiers at the site. History records show that severely ill patients were left at the shelters during evacuations after being given potassium cyanide to commit suicide.

     Recently, officials of the town have begun discussing the possibility of putting those shelters on public display. They intentionally planned not to set up lighting equipment at the shelters so that visitors can learn the atmosphere during the time period (1945).

The entrance to one of the hospital shelters in Haebaru.

     They have confirmed 15 of more than 30 shelters that are believed to have existed at the hospital compound, but most of them have caved in. They plan to open to the public two well-kept ones in fiscal 2005.

     Meanwhile, a group of experts appointed by the Okinawa Prefectural Government in July have begun investigating about 810 sites related to the war such as shelters, former batteries and "bullet holes."

     The experts plan to nominate that some of these sites be named as cultural assets for preservation by 2005.

     Most of the sites are now located on tracts of privately owned land. They hope some sites will be kept for public display by naming them as cultural assets.

     Before and during the closing days of the war, Japan's military leaders mobilized Okinawans, including students, into supportive military roles and medical services, such as the Himeyuri Butai to prepare for what would become a major ground battle against the Allied forces in Japan.

     The Allied invasion of Okinawa began in early April 1945, and Japan's resistance was crushed there after more than two months of bloody battles.

     When the American forces invaded Okinawa they were met by soldiers of Japan, among whom were also intermediate school students. To protect their native Okinawa some 1,600 male intermediate school students fought side by side with soldiers of Japan as the Tekketsu Kinno Tai. They came from 9 schools in Okinawa that included the Okinawa Normal School, the First Prefectural Intermediate School and the Second Prefectural Intermediate School.

     In addition, the Himeyuri Butai and the Shiraume Butai composed of some 460 female students coming from seven schools including the First Prefectural Women's High School, Second Prefectural Women's High School, and Shuri Women's High School. These students served as nurses at the front lines. They moved through the battlefields carrying food and ammunition. Nearly all these students perished in the Battle of Okinawa. Now resting in peace, they are enshrined in Yasukuni Jinja.

     Some 1,500 peoples lost their lives when the Tsushima Maru, a transport ship, was torpedoed and sunk by an enemy submarine while transporting evacuees from Okinawa to Kagoshima. Included among them were 700 elementary school students.

     There were also a large number of students who had lost their lives in air raids on the factories that they worked in. Due to the war, these students postponed their studies to help with manufacturing work.

     On August 20, 1945, despite the end of the war, Soviet troops suddenly invaded the territory of Japan. Under siege, a female telephone operator in Maoka of Karafuto (Sakhalin) ended her report: "Everyone, this is our last and final transmission. Goodbye to you all." Shortly thereafter the female operators took their own lives.

     The Himeyuri Peace Prayer & Memorial Museum located in Southern Okinawa.
     The strongest lamentation over the mournful Battle of Okinawa is induced here at "The Monument of Himeyuri". It was built to offer prayer for the 210 female students and teachers of the First Prefectural Girls' High School and Women's Normal School who killed themselves. They were devotedly working as war nurses in the "Himeyuri (or Star Lily) Corps".

     This museum, built with people's prayer for the female students killed in the Battle of Okinawa and wish for the world peace, is located behind the Monument of Himeyuri.

Himeyuri Corps.

     The age of girls working as nurses were from 15-19, very young, and they are called Himeyuri Corps. They were students of the First Prefectural Women's High School and Okinawa Normal School. During the battle of Okinawa, they were forced to join the corps. An estimated 222 students and 18 other personnel were stationed in the hospitals. They were forced to serve while under intense fire.

     The Japanese army changed into the annihilation state, and ordered the Himeyuri corps to disperse. Surrounded by U.S forces, they always had a hand grenade to kill themselves with in an attempt to avoid being captured. The Japanese army didn't allow them to surrender.

     As a result, 219 lives were claimed...

     At Himeyuri Peace Museum, you will find a room full of pictures of Himeyuri crops which show most of each dead girl's background and the cause of her death. Entering that room, you will be shocked at many young faces.

     You will hear the sound of a combat plane here.

     Here is a real story which one of survivors told us.

     "Only five girls survived in this cave. Surrounded by the U.S forces, I was hiding myself in a thicket with my seniors so not to be found by the U.S forces. We had a hand grenade at that time, too.

     Suddenly, my teacher ran to the enemy raising his hands to ask for help for his students. He was carrying the injured student on his back. The moment we saw it, we also ran up to him unconsciously saying "Teacher"!!!...We thought at that time that we would die with our teacher.

     .....I don’t know if the teacher and the injured student survived or not, but I survived fortunately because of the care provided by the U.S. forces. At that time, one more girl's group was hiding themselves in a thicket next to us, and killed themselves with a hand grenade in front of me. I will never forget that scenery.

     I have a handicap now in the leg because of the war, but I managed to survive. I must tell people as my duty about the terrible disaster born by the war.

     I want to tell all of you just one thing. You must not have any quarrel.(Never quarrel, Never war.)Hands in hands friendly with people all over the world."

     For detailed information, please contact:

• 671-1 Ihara, Itoman City, Okinawa Pref.
• Telephone: (098)997-2100