Peace Park & Butterflies Paradise

In May I was invited to go to the Peace Park in Naha by my friend Diana whose son, James was visiting from the states. She had been once before with her husband so she knew her way around but wanted James to see it and was kind to ask me to tag along too. It was on my list of places to see so I was quite excited to get the invite. It's located on the lower tip of the island below Naha and we haven't done much exploring in that direction other than going to the airport. The day turned into a rainy one so we didn't get to explore as much of the grounds as I'd have liked to explore but I took  a few pictures from under the shelter at the Museum of areas it was too wet to walk to. I hope to return at a future date to see the rest.

We started at the Peace Hall which was basically an art museum with a giant "Peace Prayer Statue" in the middle of the room decorated with thousands of paper cranes (a symbol of peace). The statue stands about 40 ft high and is about 26 ft wide and is supposed to be a symbol of praying human beings. The hands put flat together is in commemoration of the war dead and a wish for world peace. It was created by the artist Shinzan Yamada and is made completely out of laquer imported from China (about 3.5 tons). Above the statue there is a group of lights that are meant to look like stars that represents cosmic space where the war dead rest peacefully. Seven pillars representing seven seas surrounds the statue and in it's basement are kept consecrated small stones of peace collected from all over the world (which I didn't get to see).The work began on the statue in 1957. The artist was 72 when he started the project and 90 years old when he completed the prototype. He lived through the war and lost his oldest and third sons in the Battle of Okinawa. There are a series of 20 paintings entitled "War and Peace"in the same hall that the statue resides painted by an artist named Keiyu Nishimura. They were beautiful paintings and each had a story to them that explained (in English too) his inspiration for each painting. There was a table in the back of the room with origami paper where you could fold your own paper crane. I used to know how to make them but I failed at following their obscure instructions. I asked Cory to refresh my memory on making paper cranes on our trip to the states and I can now make one again.  I always loved seeing the paper cranes at the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima. The story of "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" touched my heart many years ago and ever since I read it I have loved paper cranes.

After leaving the Peace Hall, we went into Butterflies Paradise.....the highlight of my day. I must have worn the right color or smelled pretty good because they loved landing on me. Diana and James didn't have any land on them while I had up to five at one time on me. They definitely made me smile from the love they were showing me. The butterflies were called Ogomadara and are said to be the largest butterflies in Japan with a wing span of 5 inches. Their brochure says "Butterflies meaning 'soul' in Greek welcome all the visitors and tell them how precious life and peace are." I guess they were talking to me and I just didn't realize. They did make me feel peaceful though.

The Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum

After playing with the butterflies we walked to the Peace Memorial Museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside so I can only show you the outside of the building. The Battle of Okinawa began in late March of 1945 and lasted for 90 days. Okinawa was basically sacrificed as a battleground for the war between the US and Japan. They lost upwards of 200,000 people in the battle. It was the only ground fighting fought on Japanese soil and was the largest-scale campaign of the Asia-Pacific War. The civilian death toll far outweighed that of the military. Some were torn apart by guns during the fighting, some died of starvation because their crops were destroyed and the military confiscated their food supplies for the soldiers. Some died from malaria and snake bites from living in the caves and tombs to protect themselves from the battles....and many were convinced to commit suicide with stories of what the Americans would do to them if they surrendered. I recently read a fiction book set in Okinawa during the war and it was so very sad to learn of all they went through during that battle. The museum basically tells the story of the battle, shares eye-witness accounts, replicates some of the battle scenes and displays many of the items found after the war. Like the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima it is quite sobering to walk through it. We've been fortunate to have never had a battle fought on our country's soil during our lifetimes and it's good to be reminded of how horrifying it can be to live through something like that. May their wish for peace on this island be granted.

When we exited the museum it was pouring down rain outside. There were several other areas I would have loved to have walked through. One that captured my eye was a large area of marble walls called "the Cornerstone of Peace" with the names of all who lost their lives during the war of Okinawa (regardless of nationality, soldier or civilian) inscribed on them. They are overlooking the sea on the Pacific Ocean side. I took a few pictures through the rain but I wanted to walk through them and say a little prayer for all those innocent people who got caught in the midst of a battle they didn't start. They trusted their government to be truthful with them and to protect them and they found themselves fighting for survival on their own.

I'll leave you with a few other pictures from the grounds of the Peace Memorials. The first is the Bell of Peace. It was donated by the Lion's Club and is rung on the memorial occasions of praying for world peace. There is an inscription on it that reads..."Calm the souls of the war dead. Swear the permanent peace of the world. From the Hill of Mabuni in all directions, sounds everlastingly the Bell of Peace, in solemn prayers of all people".

Near the entrance to the museum is the Peace Prayer Monument. It is inscribed with the words "My Opinion on Peace". There was a contest when it was first made for entries on the subject "my opinion of peace". The top three winners are inscribed on the monument to inspire others to consider their own opinions on peace.

Here's a picture of the outside of the building that houses the huge Peace Prayer Statue and the "War and Peace" art display. It was opened in 1978 and stands on the Hill of Mabuni. The Hall has a polygonal roof with septilateral pyramid which represents seven seas and the shape of hands joined in prayer.

Not sure what this one is. 

And lastly, some of the artwork and part of the paper cranes from the Peace Hall.