“…had the [Japanese] military regarded non-combatants as coming under their protection, evacuations [of Okinawan civilians] would have been unnecessary and the collective self-killings that took place in the Kerama Islands, Iejima, Yomitan, and Mabuni would never have been carried out. In reality, non-combatants were far from being protected by the military. Instead, they found themselves in a situation where they were attacked by tigers at the front gate (the enemy troops) and wolves at the back gate (their own troops).” - Masahide Ota, Re-examining the History of the Battle of Okinawa (1985)

**********
SYNOPSIS: April 1, 1945 – Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan – One hundred forty Okinawan men, women, and children seek refuge in Chibichiri Cave, sheltering themselves away from the heavy crossfire of the U.S. and Japanese militaries. Eighty-four of these same men, women, and children would commit suicide the following day.

**********
BACKGROUND: Okinawa Prefectural Government records show that nearly 1/3 of the population at the time – over 150,000 civilians (including 11,483 children) – were killed during World War II’s Battle of Okinawa (March 26 through September 7, 1945). Crippled by the horrors of war as well as the horrors fueled by Japanese military propaganda (and not to mention Japan’s samurai-era doctrine of “honorable” death or sacrifice), many civilians would resort to suicide using military-issued hand grenades, by jumping from high cliffs, or – in the case of Chibichiri Cave – by slaughtering one another.

**********
PRODUCTION:

recording/arrangement/mixing: Logic 8
programming/synths: Reason 3
live instruments: sanshin [Okinawan lute]