Himeyuri is the nickname of the Female Division of the Okinawa Normal School and First Girls' High School. The schools were gradually militarized as the war continued from the 1930s. The exhibits show the process of how the war and the educational brainwashing of Imperial Japan robbed Okinawa's young of their bright youth filled with dreams for the future. The 240 Himeyuri students were mobilized to the battlefield when the U.S. military finally landed on Okinawa Island.

The 240 mobilized students were assigned to work as nurse assistants in the Okinawa Army Field Hospital in Haebaru. The facility consisted of about 40 small caves with shabby bunk beds attached to the walls. The diorama of a clinic cave and the storytelling by Himeyuri survivors will enable you to better understand the reality of the Himeyuri students' nursing experience on the battlefield. Also exhibited in this chamber are the excavated medical tools actually used by the Himeyuri students and the activities associated with those tools.

*The three survivors and storytellers speak in turn from 9:30 to 16:00 every day. They are not available on Mondays, December 30 through January 3, and the period of the Okinawa Bon Festival, July 13～15 according to the lunar calendar. (Note: As the dates according to the lunar calendar change every year, please check with us for availability prior to your visit.)

On the evening of June 18, 1945, as the U.S. military was approaching, the students were thrown out of the caves and onto the battlefield surrounded by the U.S. military as soon as the so-called "Deactivation Order" was given. Within a few days after the Deactivation Order, more than one hundred Himeyuri students died in the war zone, where they were no longer protected by the Japanese military. The films of survivors' testimonies and a documentary filmed by the U.S. military in this exhibit room describe the Himeyuri students' post-Order survival on the battlefield.

This space is dedicated to the Himeyuri students and teachers who were killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Each photo of the 227 deceased is a memorial to their life. Visitors are able to read the written testimonies and study the life-size replica of the Ihara Third Surgical Cave, which is actually located underneath the Himeyuri Cenotaph and known for its heavy death toll caused by the U.S. military raid.

In every season, the garden outside the window of this room is beautifully colored with various kinds of flowers. Remembering all the museum exhibits, visitors coming into this chamber are welcome to leave words to share their thoughts and feelings.

This space was added in April 2004. We hope this space will create opportunities for younger generations to talk and think about peace and become a stronghold that passes peace on to future generations.

This hall space serves as a theater and is equipped with a 100-inch film screen. Besides hosting lectures by former corps students, films containing survivors' testimonies are also shown in this space. This is available for group visitors only, and reservations are required. Films of testimonies are available for watching by all visitors in the attached video room.

Information for Users of the Multimedia Hall (Japanese)..........CLICK
About the Testimony Films..........CLICK