Okinawa Day 6: Itoman Haari and Peace Memorial Park

Today's tour was very emotional.  It started off with a trip to Itoman for their Annual Itoman Haari Festival.  Haari is a boat that resembles China's dragon boat.  And every year, various towns and villages that are located along the water have their own haari races.  Our music group had the chance to form a team and it made up of 10 paddlers and one gong player.  I opted not to paddle.  Our Afuso Ryu team looked pretty good for never have had practiced together.

After watching the races and eating yummy festival food, we boarded the bus for an emotional afternoon.  We toured Himeyuri Monument.  The monument is erected above the caves where female students and teachers, who acted as nurses during the Battle of Okinawa, hid and ultimately perished.  It was so emotional to be there.  It felt like their spirits were still there...lingering.

After the monument, we stopped by the Peace Memorial Park.  The park is located at Mabuni Hill, the site where the last fight of the Battle of Okinawa occurred.  The park is dedicated to all who were lost during the Battle of Okinawa- Okinawans, Japanese, Koreans, Americans, everyone.

The afternoon concluded with a special screening of the Japanese-language film, Gama- Getto no hana.  In keeping with the theme of the day, this film was about an Okinawa woman who's husband was forced to join the Japanese army and needed flee with her family for shelter.  If I wasn't in a room full of people, I would have crying my ass off.