Thirty new names to be engraved on Cornerstone of Peace, bringing total to 241,593 names
The Cornerstone of Peace in Mabuni, Itoman
June 2, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
On June 1, the Okinawa Prefectural Government’s Peace Support and Gender Equality Division announced that in FY 2020, it will engrave an additional 30 names on the Cornerstone of Peace monument in Mabuni, Itoman, on which are engraved the names of people who lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa. The Cornerstone of Peace was erected in 1995, and additional names have been engraved annually since 2006; this year’s number of additional names is the smallest yet. Of the 30 people whose names will be additionally engraved, 20 are from Okinawa, nine are from other parts of Japan, and one is from the United States. After the engraving, there will be a total of 241,593 names on the monument.
The Okinawans whose names will be engraved were from Naha, Miyakojima, Nakijin, and other parts of Okinawa. Six of them were no older than five when they died. A representative of the prefectural government explained, regarding the reason the number of new names is smaller than in the past, “Some point out that there are fewer remaining family members of the deceased, but I think it’s most likely that since the monument was built 25 years ago, most of the names of those whose deaths have been confirmed have already been engraved.”
The Cornerstone of Peace was unveiled on June 23, 1995. Names to be engraved thereon are decided in line with a master plan prepared by the prefectural government on the basis of requests from surviving family members. According to a representative of the prefectural government, recently there have been many requests based on testimony and materials from family members, though no official documents exist as evidence. Three names that were accidentally engraved twice will have the duplicates thereof removed. The work has already started, and is anticipated to be completed by the time of the Okinawa Memorial Day ceremony on June 23.
(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)
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