Okinawa City provides free 3D app “Koza Riot”

Okinawa City provides free 3D app

The 3D app entitled "The Koza riot - the night that Okinawan 'sadness and anger' was set alight" has reproduced the scene of that time.


October 12, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

The Okinawa City Office has reproduced the scene of the Koza Riot in 1970 using 3D computer graphics. The riot occurred in what was then Koza City (now Okinawa City) in 1970, when Okinawa was controlled by the U.S. military. From this month the city is providing a free application program that views the riot scene back in those days. This app aims to help tell the postwar history of Okinawa to the people, including students on school trips from other prefectures. It is entitled “The
Koza riot- the night that Okinawan ‘sadness and anger’ was set alight.”

The riot broke out on National Highway No. 330 and at Kadena Air Base Gate 2 Street in the early morning of December 20 in 1970, in the wake of a car accident involving U.S. military personnel. The disturbance calmed down around dawn that day.

Protesting against the suppression of human rights such as sex crimes and violent incidents involving U.S. troops under the rule of the U.S. military, thousands of angry residents overturned and burned about 80 cars of U.S. personnel.

Using photographic material from the time, the application uses 3D to cover the riot scene, including seven locations in the city where U.S. cars were burning. Users are able to see the street in the city, including roads, buildings and advertising displays of the time. They are able to view the scene reproduced realistically from all directions (360 degrees).

As users approach the scene shown on a map in the application about 20 photographs taken during the riot appear.

This app is available for free from the app site for use on all tablet PCs and smartphones.

It includes documents that summarized the commentaries and articles on the postwar history of the Okinawa City. The city intends to attract more school trips to Okinawa City by using this app, cooperating with the Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Okinawa Prefectural Government.

Ryoichi Yonamine, deputy chief of the city’s Culture and Tourism Division, said, “We are using this app to train volunteer guides and want to provide a place where tourists and students on school trips can learn about our post-war culture.”

(English translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey)

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