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The selection of Okinawa as the main site of the 2000 Group of Eight (G-8) summit meeting in July should give many visiting politicians, bureaucrats and journalists a rare opportunity to discover Okinawa at first hand. One thing the people of Okinawa and the Okinawa government officials involved in summit preparation dearly hope the visitors will see is the Cornerstone of Peace. This monument was erected in 1995 in the Peace Memorial Park in the hills of Mabuni at the southernmost tip of the island of Okinawa. The Cornerstone of Peace is made up of 114 granite slabs that resemble byobu folding screens and are arranged radially in a fan shape. Each slab is inscribed with the names of those who perished in the gruesome Battle of Okinawa in the final days of World War II. The names include military and civilians, regardless of nationality, social standing or rank.
Throughout Okinawa Prefecture, there are more than 150 monuments dedicated to the war dead. Some were put up by businesses or local organizations in memory of their colleagues and neighbors who fell in the Battle of Okinawa, while others honor the war dead from all over Japan from the 15 years of conflict that began with Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Regardless of the dedication, however, most exalt those they honor as heroic martyrs. As such, these monuments are similar to the Battleship Arizona Memorial Museum at Pearl Harbor, or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. But the Cornerstone of Peace is unique in that it honors not only Japanese victims, military and civilian, but also American and British soldiers, who were Japan's enemies in that war.
It was the spirit of an old Okinawan folk song that inspired the monument. Known as Nuchidu Takara (Treasure of Life Itself), the song is based on a poem written by Shotai (1843-1901), the last king of the Ryukyu dynasty. The concept may be paraphrased as follows: In remembering the war dead, what need is there to distinguish friend from enemy? After all, every enemy soldier who came to Okinawa to fight was merely following orders and doing his duty to his country, not out of any personal grudge against the people of Okinawa. As fellow human...