Back on course from a digression: A Tale of two Rooms

 Room 4 is mostly dark. 

So is another room many kilometres to the north of Room 4. The northern room is situated in the Bikki Atelier 3Moa, a museum housing the art and workshops of renowned Ainu artist, Hisao "Bikki" Sunazawa. The northern one is hosted by the village of Otoineppu, Hokkaido, Japan.

Each room is populated with ghosts. One set of ghosts is agitated, disturbed. The other, calm and welcoming.

In the Bikki Atelier 3Moa, you walk into a room with three dark walls, with a fourth grey one, barely visible. The fourth grey wall has a tree, or at least a crudely-chiseled trunk, atop which is a horizontal cross beam. The only light in the room is a small spot on the tree itself. In fact, the room is called Dialogue with the Tree. You hear running water, as though it is perpetually spring. There is a shallow pool at the base of the tree. And you hear a quiet voice beneath the sound of the running water, speaking gently to you in the Ainu language. The words are those of welcome and calm. Peace.

Room 4 is one of five rooms at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Museum, located in Itoman City in southern Okinawa. Each room speaks about the Battle of Okinawa from different perspectives: the battle itself, the progress of the battle, and more. 

 Two rooms speak about the civilians in particular: Room 3 is the Battleground of Hell, with mockups of caves that civilians and Japanese soldiers madly dashed to and hid in, to escape the onslaught of the US forces. These are caves where Japanese soldiers murdered or forced suicides of Okinawan civilians.

All the above is spoken from the 3rd person, if you will.

Room 4 is different: it is from the first person. The personal testimonies.

Inside are a dozen of so lecterns each illuminated by its own spotlight. Each has a sizeable book open to reveal a story or series of stories of Okinawan civilians caught in the maelstrom of battle.

This from the commentary on the Museum web site:

"There remains little material evidence to tell what actually befell the civilian victims during the Battle. Only persons who could tell the truth on behalf of those residents who died against their will are the survivors on the Battle, whose minds had long been closed to others because of their tormenting memories of the war, gradually started to talk about their experiences in order that their testimonies may be passed on to the future generations. These testimonies speak the very truth of history." --copyright, Okinawa Prefectural Peace Museum

In a word or two, devastating. Devastating experiences, devastating memories. 

Certainly, the visitor is welcome. In fact, the more visitors who take in the exhibits, the better. Memories are so volatile and contexts shift with time. And now, the government of Japan and forces on the far right are looking to gut Article 9 and restore at least the sense of Empire and aggressive capability. 

 I have been fortunate to be in the room of the Dialogue with the Tree in Otoineppu, Hokkaido, but have not been able to visit the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Museum. But I can think of a large number of people--certain politicians, especially--who really must make that visit on my behalf.