Okinawa Day 7: The Former Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters

Wednesday, May 6th--We had a really good night sleep last night!  We didn't sleep that great while we were staying in Kiyoko san's home.  Maybe it was because the house was really dirty (she didn't have very many cleaners so I couldn't really clean it up much) and Raymond's and my bed was an uncomfortable hide-a-bed pulled out of an old couch.  Whatever it was, it was refreshing to wake up rested and open the curtains to a beautiful, sunny morning! 
We had a late start this morning because we had to figure out how we were going to get around today.  Transportation has been an issue during our entire stay on this island.  We had a bus stop near our apartment, but that bus route didn't go by any of our planned stops for the day.  We would have had to switch buses several times and riding the bus on this island is so ridiculously expensive!  Finally, Raymond called a taxi and we all piled in--several of us sitting on laps--and headed to our first destination for the day.  We were all super excited to tour the Former Japanese Underground Naval Headquarters!  We had been waiting all week for this! 
When we arrived, we arranged for the taxi driver to come and pick us back up in a few hours.  While Raymond was talking to him in Japanese about it, the rest of us noticed a hedge with hibiscus flowers growing on it.  All of my life, I've wanted to see a hibiscus flower in real life.  They are simply stunning and the pictures don't do them justice. 

The entrance to the Underground Headquarters Museum.  

Right after we walked in, we decided to have everyone go to the bathroom before we went down into the tunnel.  Near the bathrooms was this work of art.  It is Shuri Castle made out of strung origami cranes.

This is a map of the underground tunnels.  They have a little over half of it cleaned out, but there are still parts of it that are not available to tour.

The first part of the tour is a little one room museum and reviews the war, focusing on the Battle of Okinawa.  There are also several items on display that were found in the tunnel after the war.  This Japanese flag is one of the things that was found down in the headquarters.

There were also some household items on display, such as a teapot, a rice bowl, glass medicine bottles, a compass, etc.

This is Rear Admiral Ota's personal things and some of his uniform.  He was the commanding officer at the Naval Underground Headquarters.  I like his fan. 

Guns and spears found in the tunnel.

The description next to the displayed guns reads: 

"The Battle Around the Underground Tunnel

Having destroyed all artillery and machine guns before moving to the Kyan Peninsula, the Navy forces possessed only some minor handmade weaponry in addition to Type-38 rifles* when they returned to their defensive position in Oroku.  These improvised weapons included spears made from train rails used by the Construction Corps and hand grenades and other explosive devices that were made with gunpowder taken from 250 kg high-explosive bombs and were used in the type of attack called "Nikudan", or human bullet.  The Nikudan charges against M3 tanks presumably had an effect in halting the advance of the U.S. for 10 days. 

*Type-38 rifle: Standard rifle of the Japanese military, adopted in 1905 (38th year of the Meiji era), possessing great accuracy and widely used in the Battle of Okinawa."

These were pictures of the officers and their families.  There were also some personal letters written to their families before they committed seppuku.   

There was a timeline of the Battle of Okinawa that was very detailed and well done. 

It had a lot of pictures of the war and of the people involved. 

A picture of the day that the U.S. landed on the shores of Okinawa.

I was surprised that the kids were so engrossed in the timeline.  We had learned about the Battle of Okinawa all day yesterday, and I would have thought that they would have been tired of it.  But, the timeline was so detailed that it reviewed everything we learned yesterday and also added more detail into the events of this horrible three month battle.  We all read every bit of the timeline.

In this timeline, we found this picture of some Japanese soldiers holding a Japanese flag exactly like the flag that was found in the Naval Headquarters after the war.

 Yeah.  It's hard to imagine such destruction and death.

This described what happened at the Underground Headquarters and how the fall of these tunnels helped to mark the end of the battle on this island.

Some of the people who committed seppuku in the Navy Underground Headquarters along with Rear Admiral Ota on June 13, 1945.

Some of Captain Hitoshi Tanamachi's  (who is pictured above) uniform that was retrieved from the tunnel after the war.  Notice the cherry blossoms that attaches to the neck of uniform.  The ancient samurai thought that after they died, they would come back as cherry blossoms.  It is fitting that cherry blossoms were on the military uniform of the Japanese empire.

Nathan wanted a picture of him with this picture of a little Okinawan boy naked and standing up to his knees in mud.  He said that he wanted a picture with it so that he never forgot what the Okinawans went through.

During the battle, many Okinawans would run to the cemeteries and hide in the stone vaults that held the ashes of whoever was interred there.  This is a picture of two children hiding in a vault and were found by the U.S. soldiers.

I thought that this was poignant.

The raw numbers of the Battle of Okinawa and dates relating to the recovery of the Naval Headquarters.

The Okinawan people were told by the Japanese war propaganda that if the U.S. soldiers "captured" them, they would be tortured, raped, and killed in unimaginable ways.  I read somewhere yesterday that the island's children were told that if an American soldier found them, he would pick them up by their ankles and rip them in two from their crotch.  This is why so many, many Okinawans killed their own children in panic before killing themselves as the Americans landed.  They truly feared what the American soldiers would do to them. 

All day yesterday, I looked for a place that taught what the U.S. forces did for the Okinawans when they landed.  It was a time of war and they had to do their job, but their fight was not with the Okinawans--it was with the Japanese.  The U.S. brought in supplies, medicine and food for the islanders.  They did whatever they could to help them find their family members and rebuild their homes.  I finally found where they taught about this here at the Naval Headquarters.

Another section told the personal story of a survivor.  He and his friends had taken a grenade from the Japanese toward the end of the battle. They took it out somewhere secluded then sat in a circle and pulled the pin. There was a huge explosion, and when the man woke up, all his friends were dead while he sat injured but very much alive. When the Americans came, he was too injured to run, and so he was captured. As they nursed him back to health, he realized that his friends had died in vain.

 

Unfortunately, the American military is not innocent when it comes to dealing with the people of Okinawa.  Farms and homes were confiscated as the military moved in and built the many bases that dot this island. 

 

This is a picture of Rear Admiral Ota.  He was in charge at the Underground Naval Headquarters.  He wrote a powerful telegram to his Vice Admiral in Tokyo.  His telegram is seen as an important part of history because it is the one time where a Japanese officer recognizes and honors the work and sacrifice of the Okinawans during the battle.  The entire telegram is as follows:

Sent at 20:16 on the 6th of June, 1945:
"Please convey the following telegram to the Vice-Admiral.
While the Governor should be the person to relay this report on the present condition of the Okinawa prefectural inhabitants, he has no available means of communication and the 32nd Division Headquarters appears to be thoroughly occupied with their own correspondences. However, due to the critical situations we are in, I feel compelled to make this urgent report though it is without the Governor's consent.
Since the enemy attack began, our Army and Navy has been fighting defensive battles and have not been able to tend to the people of the Prefecture. Consequently, due to our negligence, these innocent people have lost their homes and property to enemy assault. Every man has been conscripted to partake in the defense, while women, children and elders are forced into hiding in the small underground shelters which are not tactically important or are exposed to shelling, air raids or the harsh elements of nature. Moreover, girls have devoted themselves to nursing and cooking for the soldiers and have gone as far as to volunteer in carrying ammunition, or join in attacking the enemy.
This leaves the village people vulnerable to enemy attacks where they will surely be killed. In desperation, some parents have asked the military to protect their daughters against rape by the enemy, prepared that they may never see them again.
Nurses, with wounded soldiers, wander aimlessly because the medical team had moved and left them behind. The military has changed its operation, ordering people to move to far residential areas, however, those without means of transportation trudge along on foot in the dark and rain, all the while looking for food to stay alive.
Ever since our Army and Navy occupied Okinawa, the inhabitants of the Prefecture have been forced into military service and hard labor, while sacrificing everything they own as well as the lives of their loved ones. They have served with loyalty. Now we are nearing the end of the battle, but they will go unrecognized, unrewarded. Seeing this, I feel deeply depressed and lament a loss of words for them. Every tree, every plant life is gone.
Even the weeds are burnt. By the end of June, there will be no more food. This is how the Okinawan people have fought the war. And for this reason, I ask that you give the Okinawan people special consideration, this day forward".
With the U.S. forces closing in, after he sent this telegram, he sent another personal telegram to his family before committing seppuku with a handgun.

After spending some time in the small museum, we were ready to head down to into the headquarters themselves.  Here we are at the entrance.  This is where the Japanese naval command gave orders, made their last stand, and finally died by their own hands rather than surrender.

There were many stairs as we climbed down.

The Former Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters is the air-raid shelter used as the headquarters of the Japanese Navy during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.  It is on a hill located about 4 km south of central Naha city.  The Japanese Navy constructed this underground headquarters to guard the important airport which is the current Naha Airport. The soldiers could overlook the airport on this hill. 

There are conflicting reports as to who exactly built this headquarters.  Some say it was the Japanese military, others say it was Okinawan civilians.  We tend to think it was the Okinawans, based on everything we have learned on this island so far in regards to WWII and the relationship between the Japanese and the Okinawans.

It was already quite hot outside, but as we descended, the air got considerably cooler.  It was so pleasant to get a respite from the heat that has beset us every day.  Both Raymond and Christopher are starting to get heat rash on their backs and arms.  (Chris is also suffering from some type of rash that is blistering his arm.  We are wondering if he got bit by a bug and is having a reaction or if something in the ocean got him.)  The walls were damp with condensation and the air was musty.

This is the Signal Room.

The walls were of sheer rock, and it was very rough.  We could see pick axe marks in the stone.

 

This is the Operations Room.

This is a picture that was displayed on a wall of the Operations Room.  This room was used for operational planning.  Because of its importance, the interior was constructed of concrete and covered with plaster.  The condition of the room has changed little since the battle.

The underground headquarters was completed in December 1944.  The total length of the tunnels are about 450 meters. (Around 300 meters are currently open to the public.)  Planning rooms, staff rooms, soldier rooms and so on were set up.  It is estimated that about 4,000 men were stationed here. 

In another room, there were pock marks in the walls and ceiling from hand grenades that were set off by the Japanese soldiers as a means to commit suicide because the U.S. forces were coming in.

Ota had made an agreement with the commander of the 32nd Army (we saw the entrance to the army's underground headquarters the day that we visited Shuri Castle) that once they retreated south he would destroy the weapons at the naval underground headquarters and follow.  Due to a miscommunication, Ota enacted the plan, but when they arrived in the south, he realized the 32nd Army was not there. He ordered a return to the tunnel complex.  This turn of events made it so that the navy soldiers were in these tunnels without much in the way of weaponry just waiting for the Americans to come.

The Commanding Officer's Room.

There was some writing on one wall, but there wasn't an English translation.  On the opposite wall, there was Ota’s "favorite" poem:  “Born as a man, nothing fulfills my life more than to die in the name of the Emperor.”

The caption for this picture reads:  "Fierce ground fire by the U.S. Army at Yomitan Airfield."

"Bombardment of Naha, the capital of Okinawa."

"Two American soldiers who aim at Japanese snipers in the church at Shuri."

By looking at Caitlin's frame you can see how small and tight these tunnels are.

Beds no longer exist in the sleeping quarters, but chinks in the rock showed the beds had been four-high on both walls, just large enough for a person to lay in lengthwise, and just wide enough for bunks on two sides and a narrow corridor in the middle.

We noticed this carving into the rock.  It's in Japanese, so we don't know what it says.

All passageways were used by the naval personnel as a place to rest and sleep during the battle.

The sign posted here stated that this is the Medical Room.

The black and white picture in the room had a caption that read: "Survivors of the battle remember seeing numerous casualties in this area, so it is likely that this was the tunnel's medical facility."

The Generator Room.

This pick axe was on display to show what tools were used to build the tunnels.

Raymond and Audra.

This was a place where the tunnel was blocked off. 

This picture was in the Petty Officer's Room.  The caption reads: "During the battle this room was so crowded that men were forced to rest and sleep while standing."

This is the Petty Officer's Room.

This is another spot where the tunnel becomes closed off.  No gate here, the dirt just gradually closes off the tunnel.

Yet another spot where it closes off.  You can barely make out a gate holding back some of the dirt.  One can't help but wonder what is to be found beyond this point.   Whatever it is, I'm sure it is gruesome.

Over the years, minerals have formed stalactites on the walls in some areas. 

The look on Logan's face says it all.  This place is completely fascinating and we were so excited to be able to explore it.  But, there is a heavy feeling in these tunnels.  It's more than just the cold, musty air.  There is a feeling of desperation and agony wherever you go. 

The caption for this reads: 
"Sally Forth Scene:
Most of the naval personnel left the cave at this exit to make a final stand against the Americans even thought they were not properly armed to fight."

This is the exit where the last few remaining Japanese soldiers attempted to fight the incoming Americans.  They had a few rifles, but they were mostly just armed with spears and anything else they could find since Ota had ordered all of the munitions destroyed before abandoning these headquarters to meet up with the 32nd Army.  He didn't think they would need to return to this spot and fight the American forces from here.  They were all quickly killed by the U.S. 6th Marine Division.

We had been exploring these tunnels for maybe an hour or so when Nathan started to feel claustrophobic and started to have a small panic attack.  We tried to calm him down, but I think the close quarters combined with the dark, agonizing feeling was starting to get to him.  Finally, Ray said that he had seen everything and would take Nathan out while I rounded the rest of the kids up.  The rest of the kids were all scattered throughout the tunnels.  You can see Ray and Nathan pushing the stroller with Kirstin in it in this picture.

A view of how the ceiling was made.

This is the Commanding Officer's Personal Room.  In other words, this is Rear Admiral Ota's quarters. “Destroy the ugly Americans” is scrawled in Japanese on the wall in this room.

It is in this room that Ota composed his last two telegrams to Tokyo.  One was to his family, the other was the infamous telegram outlining how the Okinawan people had fought and asking that they be given special consideration from now on. 

Logan and Caitlin in Ota's quarters.

Ota and his officers killed themselves in the wee morning hours on June 13. Ten days later, organized fighting on the island ended. The “Typhoon of Steel,” as the battle would be called, cost over 200,000 lives.

Rather than go into the bloody scene, the 6th Marine Division sealed off the tunnel.  The remains of the Japanese soldiers, many of whom committed suicide as the U.S. closed in, lay here in these tunnels undisturbed.  Years after the war, during the years 1953-1958,  the war survivors visited here and gathered the soldiers' bones and properly interred them.  They claim to have found the remains of 2,400 men.  One can only speculate how many more remains lie in the tunnels that have yet to be excavated. 
In 1970, the Japanese Underground Headquarters was restored and opened to the public.

While this place was kind of gruesome, it was REALLY awesome and a highlight of our entire trip to Okinawa.