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Women of Okinawa: Nine Voices from a Garrison Island

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Okinawa does not seem at all like Japan, but more like America with the amount of US Marines there. "If you arent with the military, what are you doing on Okinawa?" would be the constant question that would be asked to the White people who visit the island. When the conflict ended on June 22, 1945, more than 12,000 American troops, 90,000 Japanese troups, and 125,000 Okinawan civilians were dead. Memories from this three-month battle continue to haunt war survivors today, more than half a century after. The reason why Ruth Ann Keyso concentrated on the memories of women is simple; 1. Women had had the most direct contact with Americans over the proceeding half-century. 2. Women were the ones who worked for the Americans in the postwar years ・in clubs as waitresses, in stores as cashiers, and in private homes as maids. 3. Women were the ones who married some Americans ・some for love, others for money ・and bore their children. 4. Women were the ones who were the primary victims of sexual and other forms of physical violence committed by military personnel on the island. 5. As many of the island's men died in battle, women were responsible for rebuilding Okinawa in the postwar years and restoring a sense of normalcy to people's lives.

This book focused on three different types of women, and I would like to summarize them for you with a few examples...

1. Those born before the war began
This group focused on the horrifying days of WW2, and maelstrom of the immediate postwar years, a time during which they struggled to rebuild their lives in an environment characterized by physical destruction and psychological malaise. They were faced not only with the humiliation of living alongside their former enemy, but also with the knowledge that they needed the Americans・economic assistance to survive. Their feelings are complicated ・because they remember the peace of their home before the war, and they also remember the horrifying days at war.

Two Examples -

Junko Isa, 67, nearly lost her entire family during the Battle of Okinawa. She was only 14 years old and lost 5 out of the 8 in her family ・in her family. She has been working as a maid of an American military family ever since the war ended.

Fumiko Nakamura, 84, remembers Okinawa as a peaceful place, an island of beauty. But the war has changed that. Now her homeland is crowded with US military bases, and the roar of planes, now breaks the former silence.

2. Those born during wartime
Unlike their elder sisters, they have little or no recollection of their past. Instead, their stories center on life in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. These decades defined by rapid social and political changes. These people express their dissatisfaction with conditions on the island, namely, the continued existence of the US military bases. As this has been ignored over years by the mainland Japanese, these women are eager to make a difference.

Two Examples -

Tatsuko Yamada, 57, remembers the discrimination she experienced as a university student in Tokyo during the 1960s when, as in the past, mainland Japanese looked down on Okinawans as racial and cultural inferiors.

Masayo Hirata, 58, recalls another consequence of the large US military presence on the island in those years: an increase in pregnancies. As a social worker, Hirata-san provided support for unwed Okinawan mothers with biracial children. The most complicated time, involved women who got pregnant by the US people they barely knew, then tried to get assistance in tracking the men down.

3. Those born well after the war ended
Revoked memories that were primarily pleasant, cheerful recollections of high school romances. Even though they are completely ignorant to their own history, they still complain somewhat about the American culture like of Okinawa, and also the military. However, they accept the bases with a sense of inevitably.

Two Examples -

Miako Sunabe, 21, said she cant imagine life without the Americans. She cant understand why the older generation want the military to leave the place. These people did nothing wrong, it wasnt their choice.

Mayumi Tengan, 30, said that she loved being an Okinawan because of all the American men who looked like movie stars on the streets. "I'm much more lucky to live in Okinawa than any other place. It is very romantic and exciting. They are just ordinary people."

Therefore we can clearly conclude that there are three clear types of women in Okinawa. These three types of women all have different views on the war and their position in society today.

I am studying in Japan at Ritsumeikan APU, International Management, and I will be heading off to Okinawa at the end of February 2003, so I look forward to learning more about it all.

Cheers,
Vaughan Allison

A great read from cover to cover. Ruth Ann Keyso accurately and poetically told the stories of nine Okinawan women, weaving in the island's history, culture, insight and perspective through carefully chosen words, ancedotes and descriptions. Being Japanese American, I am always searching for ways to develop my perspective on my culture, and this book has opened my eyes to the lives, dreams, tragedies and hopes of the Okinawan people. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an enthusiam to learn about the world and an eagerness to grow as a person.

From June of 1945 until 1972 the Japanese island of Okinawa was under the direct control and direction of the U.S. Unlike, the main islands of Japan whose American occupation ended in 1952 Japan's southern most island, Okinawa continued to see lots and lots of American military bases. In fact the same number are still there today. Well, one would think that after 1972 the number of American military bases and military men would have ended or been severly curtailed. Nope. Due to the cold war the U.S. has kept a huge military presence on Okinawa. Inasmuch as it is a fairly small island, the American military presence has had an enormous impact opon the lives of the ordinary Okinawan Japanese living there. From the time of the Second World War when the largest battle of the Pacific theater was fought in May and June of 1945 until today. Ruth Ann Keyso, details the lives of 9 Okinawan women whose lives have been impacted in one way or another from the American presence. The interviews included the old who experienced the extreme hardship and brutality of war to the young bride married to American servicemen. In reading this, one really gets the impression America is really an empire. Even though the cold war with the Soviet Union is over, America's military presence is not. Why is America still in Okinawa, what military purpose does it serve? Could the Okinawans survive without the dollar contribution to the Okinawan economy? Ms. Keyso's well written book informs the ignorant reader like myself, through the lives of these women, what the American military presence means and has meant to Okinawans. It is informative and keeps the uninformed current on the state of affairs as it applys to our (America's) unintended impact on foreign cultures and peoples due to the economic fallout of many American military bases (bars, strip places, prostitution, crime, etc.). The book is an easy read, informative, and enjoyable. Joe Seckelman

Ruth Keyso writes a fascinating account of the lives of nine different Okinawan women. Her book reads like seperate memoirs, yet each is tied together by the common thread of devastation and beauty, sadness and truth. These lives offer a personal glimpse into a culture that is dominated by the American military presence that has existed on their island for over 50 years, yet has managed to maintain ties to the Okinawa of the past. The book explores for the first time lives that seem to have disappeared from history books, and allows the reader to have a glimpse into the human side of war and its aftermath. The only criticism I would have for this book is that it was not written before. These stories need to be heard--they are long overdue.

I lived on Okinawa during the build-up for Viet Nam. As a 6th grader I explored a lot of the old battlefields. My family owned a home near Kakazu Ridge and Sugar Loaf Hill two of the most bitterly fought and bloody engagements of the 3 month long battle. In 1966 the Island was American. By that I mean, the currency was the Dollar, and most of the level land was in use by the US military. I could go and see just about anything worth seeing on a military shuttle bus for free. Most Okinawan businesses were mom and pop stores, either food, toy or barber shops. In Oyama, there was one of each at the foot of the terraced hill we lived on just below Futema Air Station. Over Kakazu Ridge was Kakazu village and a Karate dojo. Everywhere you went were military bases. The number and scope of the Bases has been greatly reduced contrary to the propaganda you read on the Web; only a fraction are still open. Ft. Buckner the largest US Army base at the time is gone, event Buckner Bay has been renamed. American war monuments have been removed by Japanese governmetn decree and moved onto the remaining military bases. The US Army the largest presence when I lived there has handed over control to the US Navy which maintians a large Marine presence. Of course the US Airforce is there at Kadena. A whole host of other bases have been closed and the land returned to its owners. Even the new major highway has forced the reduction in size of some of the bases. It now runs behind the house I used to live in on Kadena.
This book is long over due to cut through the loud and biased voices that fill the air with shrill noise about the American occupation.
Lest readers forget, it was the Japanese that forceably annexed the independent kingdom of Okinawa. It was the Japanese that militarized the Island late in WWII; it was the Japanese who propagandized the Okinawa civilians into fighting and ultimately killing themselves in fear of the Americans. I dare say that the survivor's memories are not only filled with feelings of bitterness but also horror at the needless deaths of their relatives, especially those that died at the hands of their own families for no reason. Believing the lies told to them by their Japanese masters. They beleived the lies and fought and died for a culture that used them. When Gen. Ushijima withdrew from the Shuri line he moved his troops and artillery south intermingled with the crowds of Okinawan refugees surging south to flee the "american devils" intent on raping all the women and even eating their children.

The stories told in the book validate my remembrances of Okinawa as a teen. My visits to Okinawan schools in cultural exchange, the furtive nods exchanged with the blue uniformed school kids my own age on the street. The smiling and competitive interaction at the local slot car parlors in Koza City when I went there to race my cars.

One thing is clear, Okinawans need to seek their own destiny and independence, as they will never be Japanese.

I just finished this book. As a female, African-American/Japanese stationed on Okinawa for the last four years I really enjoyed this book. Okinawan history from a woman's perspective was truly a story that needed to be told. I wasn't interested in the history of Okinawa until I went on a local base tour of the battle of Okinawa last year. It opened my eyes to the treatment of the Okinawans from the Japanese. My heart goes out to these wonderful people. I have a better understanding on how the Okinawans feel about our presence here on their island and what war means to them.
I am going to recommend this book to all my friends, American and Okinawan.
Thanks for the story Miss Keyso.

Author Keyso's interviews with nine key women in Okinawa provides detailed insight into the Japanese island and its past. From how people hid in caves during the war to survive being shot by the enemy (and by their own countrymen) to how imposing it is to live with American bases on the island to how the Japanese mainlanders view Okinawans ("Do you people wear shoes there?") to how a women's consciousness has developed. This is history come to life. A great read.

I really liked this book, but found the authors personal views at times a bit distracting. Fortunately the author doesn't do much of the story telling, she leaves that to the nine Okinawan women she interviews.

The nine women interviewed were from three different generations of Okinawan's, pre-war, post-war and 'modern'. The open and honest stories of these women was a fascinating read. All three generations had different views on Okinawa, the military (both Japanese and American) and repatriation. It was interesting to see how much the views of women varied depending on when they grew up.

The book was an eye opener for me, a military spouse stationed on Okinawa, for how the Okinawan's felt during the Vietnam era and Repatriation. It gave me a greater understanding of why the Okinawan's feel the way they do today and what in their past made them feel this way.

Its a great read for anyone interested in Okinawa, past or present.

This book is amazing! I couldn't put it down once I started. I especially liked the stories of the middle aged women and how they felt about living alongside the Americans during the early years of the Occupation on the island. Some of the stories made me laugh out loud!

I have never been to Japan but have always been fascinated by the country and its culture. Now I feel like I have firsthand knowledge of Okinawa's history both during WWII and in recent years. This book has made me appreciate what the Okinawans, our former enemy, endured during the war. What's great is, the book recalls the war and the occupation from a human perspective, not just from a military one.

This book is about human emotions, drama, sacrifice and triumph, all presented through the eyes of nine incredible women. Anyone who is fascinated by Japan or Asia HAS to read this book!