Okinawa Dreams OK
Tony Barrell and Rick Tanaka
I learned of this book through an e-mail exchange with
Rick Tanaka and immediately ordered it. In fact, this was my
first purchase over the internet - was really worried about giving
up a card number!
Anyway, this is a great book - loaded with the
personal accounts and concerns from the Okinawans themselves as well
as some of the American military members who inhabit their land.
Not a book with a plot and not a history of "the war," you should
learn a lot about what makes people on this island tick.
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The Girl With the White Flag
by Tomiko Higa
See Cover Here
I got this book from barnesandnoble.com and couldn't put it down.
It's a book so revealing and so personal - what this little 7 year old
girl did to survive the ravages of the Battle for Okinawa leaves you
begging for more. If there is any fault at all with this book, it's
that it ever had to be written in the first place!
The world has a lot to learn from a little girl!
Not your typical "war story," Yomiko Higa takes us into some of the
finer detail of life on Okinawa - the way it used to be and clearly,
the way it will never be again.
Tomiko, then 6 years old, had to leave her home in Shuri. Her father
had imparted words that would come back to her time and again and
would lead her through the Valley of Death. Carrying what they could,
Tomiko, her two sisters and brother began their perilous journey:
"...I don't know how far we had walked, but we continued on, encouraging
one another as we became more and more tired until finally we saw a long,
low hill ahead.....We managed to make a... hollow just big enough to hold
(her brother) Nini's and my bottoms... we just sat close together.
I went to sleep with my head on Nini's shoulder. Nini put his arm
around my shoulder and covered us with a piece of cloth.
"...All the while, shells and machine gun bullets continued to fall about us...
"...It did not seem to me that we had slept for more than a few moments
when five or six soldiers appeared and shouted in loud voices, "Move off,
move off! There's going to be fighting here soon...
"I hurriedly tried to shake Nini awake, but he did not respond. He's
fast asleep, I thought, and saw that he was sleeping with his eyes wide open..."
Don't miss out on this story. And keep a box of Kleenex handy.
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An Oral History of The Battle of Okinawa
Survivors' Testimonies
A guide to Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum.
Here I have a short essay which includes 25 first-hand, first-person accounts of the horrors of the Battle for Okinawa. No one can read this book and not feel the anguish, the despair and the helplessness and hopelessness that the innocents of Okinawa endured. In fact, this reading revives in me the anger and resentment I have for those forces which dragged Okinawa into the war.
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Okinawa in 1945
compiled by Yoji Aoyama
A collection of drawings and photos, by American military newsmen, of Okinawa immediately following the close of military combat operations in 1945.
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OKinawa - Isle of Smiles
An Informal Photographic Study - 1951
by William E. Jenkins
Photographs and little text - a look at the islands shortly after the war years. I think it's neat that this is a 1951 publication for two reasons.
September 8th, 1951 was the signing of the final peace treaty with Japan. The next day, September 9th, yours truely came into the world! *grin*
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Okinawa - the Southern Gateway
by S. Kishaba
This is a handy little Guide for newcomers as well as a reference for the "old timers" to help find their way around the islands. Clearly the American military population is the readership target for this publication
- Kariyushi (Blessed) Okinawa
- Exploring the Island
- Useful Bits and Pieces
- Stories of Old
- Arts and Shopping
- Inbound and Outbound
- An Organization Serving You
- Where Next?
I enjoy thumbing through this pocketbook from time to time. I would imagine that this is a publication that is updated from time to time. Mine is the Third Edition.
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Women of the Sacred Groves
Devine Priestesses of Okinawa
by Susan Sered
Not until having read this book did I understand and appreciate the extent to which women are the spiritual leaders of the Okinawans. I haven't finished reading this one yet - when I do I'll revisit this page to tell you my thoughts on it.
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On the Threshold of the Closed Empire
by Edward E. Bollinger
This is a book that fascinated me. It's essentially a treatise on the theological inroads made to the Ryukyu kingdom in the early days. We often hear or read of Commodore Perry who is credited with having opened Okinawa to the Western world. Perry indeed! The commodore was a relative late-comer to the island.
Bettelheim and Forcade were leaps and bounds ahead of Perry when it came to knowing the Ryukyuans and their culture and politics.
This is one of the rare finds which have allowed me access to the English-language writings about pre-war Okinawa. Fascinating!
Addendum: The more I've read about the pre-war history of Okinawa, including accounts of Christian missions to Ryukyu, I've come to recognize that Bettelheim, indeed one of the earliest visitors, was perhaps one of the least diplomatic, and one of the most offensive representatives of the Western world to wash ashore. For example, he would violently enter homes against the wishes of those who inhabited the home, literally breaking and entering, foist himself upon the shocked and frightened Okinawan family under the pretense of spreading the Word of God. His behavior got so bad that people would scatter, and word of his approach would spread throughout the village, whereupon parents would gather up their children and fortify their homes.
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The Okinawa Prefectural Museum
Aid for Appreciation
Written in both Japanese and English, this is a terrific guide to the Museum at Shuri.
It takes us from the geological origin of the Ryukyu archepelago right on through the artifacts on display in the museum. There are abundant photographs and captions which, as indicated by its title, allow the reader (as well as the museum visitor) to appreciate and understand the contents on display. I had the good fortune to find this being offered at the eBay auction. In fact, after having been the successful high bidder on this book, the woman who had listed it also let me have the next book for a very reasonable price.
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Gyokusendo-cave, Okinawa
A Pictorial Guide
This is a neat little 22-page book loaded with brilliant color photos and bi-lingual discussion of the caves at Gyokusendo. It covers information from the caves' discovery to areas of interest in proximity to the site.
This appears to be a booklet which would be available at the gift-shop or other commercial/tourist outlet.
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Okinawa - Where is it? (13th Edition)
"Dedicated to everyone who ever got lost on the island...."
Here's an indisputably indispensable guide to touring the islands! Undoubtedly, there is a much newer edition of this wonderful guide available today. I'd have never seen many of the wonders of Okinawa without this book. Between this and "Okinawa by Road" I don't think a person would need any other guide until ready to delve into the truely in-depth aspects of the island culture. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time on island to mature to that point. *sigh* I always look forward to a time when I will return to Okinawa.
By the way, I steadfastly believe that it's impossible to get lost on Okinawa. Disoriented, maybe. Side-tracked, without a doubt. But Lost? Nah! Just keep driving, pedalling or walking and you'll eventually hit a beach!
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Okinawa by Road
A Traveler's Guide to the Islands - Kume Publishing Co.
I went almost nowhere without this book! In fact, in many of my videos I see that it is reflected in the windshield as I wend my way around the island. It was either on the dash or in my hands at all times while roaming around.
This book has the most detailed maps of roadways and sites of any publication I've found. Highly recommended for anyone who is trekking around on their own.
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Shape of Okinawa (Vol. 2)
photography by Junko Hirai
Eighty-two pages of beautiful color photographs. No English captions or explanations - but who needs it!?
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Festivals of Okinawa (Vol. 3)
photography by Junko Hirai
Ninety pages of striking color photographs of the festivals, as the title says! With this book, I really DO regret that there are no captions and explanations in English. Maybe someone can take this book and translate the Japanese for me? Hmmmm?? *hint, hint*
Since this is "Volume 3" and Shapes of Okinawa is "Volume 2" I then deduce that there is a Volume One of Hirai's photography floating around out there somewhere... Anyone know? Volume 4? Do I hear a 5? I'll pay!
The cover photo is a village scene with all women, dressed in white, carrying large fans and walking a circle around an inner circle of white-clad women. I suspect that this is a religious ceremony involving the noro (priestesses). Alas, I have so much more to learn! *sigh*
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Okinawa - a People and Their Gods
by James C. Robinson
A theological study of unusual (at least to Western world) religious beliefs and practices. This is a complemetary piece to Women of the Sacred Groves and to On the Threshold of the Closed Empire.
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