Himeyuri and Hawaiʻi
February 15, 2024-June 30, 2024
Location: Elevator Gallery
The UH Mānoa Library is honored to host "Himeyuri and Hawaiʻi." The beautiful and informative panels of this traveling exhibition were created by the Himeyuri Peace Museum in Okinawa. They convey a powerful message about war and peace in telling the story about the Himeyuri Student Corps. This exhibit also uncovers connections with Hawaiʻi.
Two girls’ schools, the Okinawa First Girls’ High School and the Okinawa Female Normal School, made up the Himeyuri Student Corps. In late 1944, it was decided that students in Okinawa (male students 14 years and older, female students 15 years and older) would be mobilized and they were required to undergo wartime training. The Himeyuri school girls and their teachers were eventually sent to the Okinawa Army Hospital, which was set up in caves, to assist medical personnel. The 240 students and teachers of the Himeyuri unit were tasked with getting food and water from outside the caves, helping doctors and nurses with surgeries/caring for the wounded, and later burying the dead. At the end of the war, 136 of the 240 students and teachers of the Himeyuri corps had lost their lives.
The panels on the postwar period examine the aftermath of the war and the activities carried out by the Himeyuri survivors. These survivors continue to promote peace through their work at the Himeyuri Peace Museum where they keep the memories of their fallen friends alive. The second half of the exhibit also examines the connections between Himeyuri and Hawaiʻi, including the Himeyuri teacher who was born in Hawaiʻi, the survivors who came to live in Hawaiʻi, and the engineer from Hawaiʻi who helped to raise funds for maintaining the memorials dedicated to the Himeyuri Student Corps.
This exhibition made its international debut at the 2023 HUOA Okinawan Festival and also at UH West Oʻahu.
Co-sponsored by the UH Center for Okinawan Studies.
Himeyuri Peace Museum website:
https://himeyuri-and-hawaii.com/
Himeyuri Peace Museum exhibit at UH West Oʻahu examines Hawaiʻi connection
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/09/01/himeyuri-and-hawaii-exhibit/
