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Jul 09
2008
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Konpaku-no-ToPosted by meg in Untagged |
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Konpaku-no-To is a war memorial located on Highway 331 about one-half kilometer east of Himeyuri-no-To in Komesu Village (located on the far southern portion of Okinawa). Konpaku translates to mean "soul."
After the Battle of Okinawa, Occupation authorities ordered the citizens of Mawashi Village to relocate to Komesu, a village on the southern tip of the island, now incorporated into present-day Itoman City. As the southern portion of the island saw heavy fighting, the citizens found thousands of remains scattered about their new village. The head of the village, Kinjo Washin, began a campaign to collect these remains, most of which were unidentifiable. Villagers requested permission from the U.S. Occupation authorities to build a tomb for the remains, and after permission was granted, and some 35,000 remains were buried in a mass grave that was marked by a concrete and coral mound bearing the word "konpaku."
In 1979, amidst a movement to make the area around present-day Peace Prayer Park into the island's central war memorial (dozens of smaller, community memorials and graves were scattered about the island), most of the remains were relocated to the cemetery on Mabuni Hill. However, one bone was left at Konpaku-no-To. Today, small crowds still gather to mourn the dead and offer prayers and flowers, often as an addendum to the Irei-no-Hi activities held every June at Peace Prayer Park.
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