BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//PYVOBJECT//NONSGML Version 1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:events.uid.6786@www.discovernikkei.org DTSTART:20230625T000000Z DTEND:20230625T000000Z DESCRIPTION:<strong><em>Lectures detail civilian suffering during WWII Batt le of Okinawa</em></strong>\n\nOn June 25 (Sunday)\, 2 p.m. Pacific Time\, the Okinawa Association of America (OAA) in Gardena\, California\, will h ost their annual Irei no Hi: Remembering the Battle of Okinawa event both in person and online via Zoom (hybrid). Admission is free for current OAA members and $2 for the general public. RSVP is required: visit <a href="ht tps://tinyurl.com/oaa-irei-23" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/oaa-irei-23</a> or contact (310) 532-1929\, oaamensore@gmail.com.\n\nCommemorating the 78 th anniversary of World War II’s Battle of Okinawa\, this event will fea ture <strong>recordings of two in-depth lectures by special guest speakers Harumi Miyagi (Japanese with English subtitles) and Hanayo Oya (English)< /strong>\, which were originally presented online during the pandemic. <em ><span style="text-decoration: underline\;">(Content warning: Both lecture s contain verbal descriptions of violence and mentions of suicide)</em>\n\ nThere will also be <strong>pre-recorded performances by Ricardo Kakazu an d Bruna Mariko Ōshiro in Brazil</strong> (Okinawan folk song)\, <strong>H anayo Oya</strong> (Yaeyama folk song)\, and <strong>Kyle Toyama</strong> (spoken word).\n\nThe Battle of Okinawa was one of the bloodiest land batt les in the Pacific\, with historians calling it a “war of attrition” b y the Imperial Japanese Army to prevent the U.S. from reaching the Japanes e mainland. In Okinawa\, a memorial day known as <em>Irei no Hi</em> (慰 霊の日) is observed annually on June 23. This date is officially docume nted as the end of the battle in 1945\, although Okinawa’s suffering con tinued long after. The goal of the OAA's Irei no Hi events is to memoriali ze the nearly 150\,000 lives that were lost and to inform the next generat ion about Okinawa’s history and its connection to current issues.\n\nThe U.S. military landed in the Kerama Islands on March 26\, 1945. Okinawan s urvivors state that the mass civilian deaths that occurred during this tim e were coerced by the Imperial Japanese Army. In 2007\, Japan’s Ministry of Education ordered the incidents to be removed from high school textboo ks. <strong>Harumi Miyagi</strong>\, a historian\, lecturer\, and writer i n Okinawa\, will explore these horrific incidents based on her research an d interviews with survivors.\n\nWhile the Okinawa and Kerama Islands were ravaged by land battles and air raids\, the Japanese Imperial Army forcefu lly evacuated civilians from Hateruma\, Ishigaki\, and neighboring Yaeyama Islands to malaria-infected jungles and mountains. According to the Yaeya ma Peace Memorial Museum in Ishigaki\, the military-ordered evacuation res ulted in 16\,800+ infections and 3\,600+ deaths. Referred to as "another B attle of Okinawa\," journalist and documentary filmmaker <strong>Hanayo Oy a</strong> will explore this little-known chapter.\n\nThe OAA Center is lo cated at 16500 S. Western Ave. in Gardena. The parking lot is accessible b ehind the buildings off of 165th Place. The in-person event will take plac e in the Yamauchi Building. For the online event\, the Zoom link will be e mailed on the morning of.\n\n<strong>Harumi Miyagi</strong> is currently t he vice chairperson of the New Okinawa Prefectural History Editorial Commi ttee <em>(Shin Okinawa-ken-shi Henshū Iinkai)</em> and chairperson of the Women’s History Subcommittee. As a lecturer\, she has spoken at Okinawa International University\, the University of the Ryūkyūs\, and the Pref ectural Government office about women’s history and gender studies\, pea ce and human rights\, and the inheritance of <em>tootoomee</em> (Okinawan mortuary tablets). Her books include “What My Mother Left Behind: New Te stimonies of Mass Suicide in Zamami Island (母の遺したもの：沖縄 ・座間味島「集団自決」の新しい証言)\,” “Women’s His tory as a Minority (マイノリティとしての女性史)” (co-author ed)\, and “Listen to the Damage of Sexual Violence (性暴力被害を 聴く)” (co-authored).\n\n<strong>Hanayo Oya</strong> is a multi-award- winning journalist\, documentary filmmaker\, and scholar whose work has co ntributed to the much-needed preservation of Okinawa’s war and postwar h istory. Her feature-length documentary\, “Boy Soldiers: The Secret War i n Okinawa (沖縄スパイ戦史)\,” received Best Documentary Film from the prestigious Kinema Junpo Awards and the Excellent Film award from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Japanese Ministry of Education\, Cult ure\, Sports\, Science\, and Technology.\n\nThe <strong>Okinawa Associatio n of America\, Inc. (OAA)</strong> is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving and promoting Okinawan culture. Formed by first generation Okinawan immigrants (issei)\, the OAA has grown into a mu lti-generational organization that hosts numerous events throughout the ye ar including cultural lectures\, performances\, social gatherings\, and se nior-focused activities. 2019 marked the organization’s 110th anniversar y as well as the 20th anniversary of the OAA Center in Gardena. Follow on <a href="https://facebook.com/oaamensore" target="_blank">Facebook</a> /  <a href="https://instagram.com/oaamensore" target="_blank">Instagram</a> DTSTAMP:20240430T112511Z SUMMARY:Irei no Hi: Remembering the Battle of Okinawa (In Person &amp\; Onl ine) URL:/en/events/2023/06/25/irei-no-hi-remembering-the-battle-of-okinawa-in/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR