School field trip photographer at the The Cornerstone of Peace, Mabuni.
Archive for the ‘okinawa’ Category
Shoes of Okinawa: Five Legs
Friday, November 13th, 2009 Shoes of Okinawa: Chûbu Kankô Bus Guide
Friday, November 13th, 2009
At The Cornerstone of Peace (平和の礎), Mabuni, Okinawa, Japan.
Shoes of Okinawa: Follow the Bus Guide
Friday, November 13th, 2009
At The Cornerstone of Peace (平和の礎), Mabuni, Okinawa, Japan.
Shoes of Okinawa: The Cornerstone of Chaos
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Right when I came down Mabuni Hill to walk through The Cornerstone of Peace (Heiwa no Ishiji) memorial, bus loads of high school kids from the mainland showed up. I groaned, but then made the best of it by whipping out my video camera and my Canon. Many of the guys are simply goofing around (saw one guy making fun of Okinawan names on the marble walls — how’s that for respect) while other joked around the Flame of Peace and pool which is to the upper right of this photo. Many of the girls, on the other hand, where more concerned about what pose they struck and if their hair and makeup were all right than the were about the facts and symbols of the momument. So, while these are shoes in Okinawa, they are not Okinawan shoes.
Shoes of Okinawa: Beaver
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Shoes of Okinawa: An itch
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Shoes of Okinawa: Ryukyu Replica
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Explaining Shuri Castle
Friday, November 13th, 2009
“And you see, Dad, over there is where the Ryukyu King would hold audience before the hundreds of nobles….”
Shoes of Okinawa: Explaining Shuri Castle
Friday, November 13th, 2009
Okinawa Day Two
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Today was all about the war dead. I got my car and zipped down to Mabuni to photograph the cave opening area where Generals Ushijima and Cho, commanders of the Japanese 32nd Army during the Battle of Okinawa, killed themselves, effectively ending the battle.
The lucky hit, however, was literally running into the Memorial Day ceremonies for Shizuoka Prefecture. Each prefecture has their own designated day outside of Okinawa’s Memorial Day (Irei no hi) on June 23. I got about all of the event on video as well as a few stills like this one. Note the hibiscus in the foreground and Japanese flag in the back. There are a lot of hibiscus on Mabuni hill (an old funeral flower before it acquired the tropical paradise association).
On the way there you have to walk through the rows of prefectural memorials all over the top of Mabuni Hill. Among them is the Okinawa National War Dead Cemetery (although it’s really an ossuary). The big blackish block in the back is where the bones are:
Then I wandered around big Battle of Okinawa memorial, The Cornerstone of Peace. I’ve taken a lot of regular photos of it before, so this time I was experimenting:
And then there was the school groups. I was besieged, but made the best of it by stirring up video in their midst. I’ll probably post that later once I process it.
After all that I couldn’t get enough, so I drove over to Itokazu Cave, paid my ¥250 admission and ¥100 to rent flashlights and dived in. This cave is pretty big and served as a shelter and hospital annex during the battle; it took me about a half hour to walk through. This is a shot of the stone ovens down there:
I finally called it a day once I climbed out and drove home. Oh yeah, my car has a Navi (I named it Lain) and it told me when I was nearly home:
