まゆの部屋

Emperor honors war dead
By Shigeo Inoue / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent



The Emperor and Empress bow their heads in silent prayer at Saipan's Banzai Cliff, or Puntan Sabaneta, on Tuesday. (Pool photo)SAIPAN--The Emperor and Empress, on a pilgrimage to the West Pacific island of Saipan--a decisive battlefield in World War II--offered silent tributes Tuesday morning at war memorials and sites linked to the fierce fighting, including two cliffs where many Japanese soldiers and civilians leaped to their deaths rather than surrender to U.S. troops.

Following a number of scheduled wreath-laying ceremonies and silent prayers in the northern part of the island, the Imperial couple visited peace memorials for Korean and Okinawan war dead that were not included in the public schedule.

Explaining the additional royal visits, an Imperial Household Agency official said the visits were not made public in advance because of the "possibility of the Imperial tributes at the Korean Peace Memorial being hampered." The official declined to provide any further details.

In their first overseas trip specifically aimed at paying their respects to victims of the war, shortly after 9:10 a.m., the Imperial couple offered a bouquet of white chrysanthemums brought from Japan to the Monument of the War Dead in the Mid-Pacific that the Japanese government built in March 1974.

The Emperor and Empress then proceeded to Suicide Cliff at Mt. Yoppi, which rises 250 meters above the sea and was the site where a large number of Japanese plunged to their deaths rather than surrender in shame. The couple stood at the edge of the cliff, bowing deeply in silent prayer.

They then visited Banzai Cliff, where many Japanese also jumped to their deaths, shouting, "Banzai!" (Long live the Emperor!) at the close of the Battle of Saipan, bowing deeply toward the azure sea.

On their way back to their hotel on the island, the Imperial couple had their car stop at the Tower of Okinawa, built by the Okinawan government in 1968, before Okinawa reverted to Japanese rule, and the Korean Peace Memorial dedicated to the souls of Korean war dead. Many Koreans were killed in the battle after being brought forcibly to Saipan while the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule between 1910 and the war's end.

The Emperor and Empress then headed to the American Memorial Park built in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the U.S. landing on the island on June 15, 1944.

They offered wreaths at two memorials in the park: the Marianas Memorial to the memory of the native Chamorros and Carolinians who were killed in the battle, and the American World War II Memorial for the 5,000 U.S. servicemen killed in fighting on Saipan and the adjacent island, Tinian.

The Imperial couple arrived at Haneda Airport on Tuesday.