Memories of the battlefield and Iwo Jima connecting with the latest technology September 15, 14:57

Iwo Jima is located at the southern end of the Ogasawara Islands.

Towards the end of the Pacific War, the island became one of the fiercest battlefields due to the landing of American forces, aiming to act as a relay point for bombers during air raids on the mainland. After the war, the island came under the administration of the United States.

Although administrative rights were returned to Japan 54 years ago, most of the island is under the control of the Self-Defense Forces and cannot be easily accessed.

Seventy-seven years have passed since the end of the war, and with the aging of former islanders and bereaved families of soldiers, efforts have begun to convey the current state of the distant battlefield using the latest technology.

(Kazuyuki Ogaki, reporter for the Tokyo metropolitan area)

Iwo Jima became the site of a fierce battle Limited opportunities for memorial services

Iwo Jima was the site of a fierce battle in the Pacific War.

Before the war, agricultural products such as sulfur and sugarcane were famous.

According to Professor Shun Ishihara of Meiji Gakuin University, who is familiar with the history of Iwo Jima, about 1,100 people used to live there.

Approximately 22,000 Japanese soldiers and others who were on the island at the time were killed in the battle with the American army, which was targeted as a relay point for bombers in the mainland air raids. 93 islanders who were killed also lost their lives.

Although 77 years have passed since the end of the war, there are no regular boats or planes, and only a limited number of people are able to participate in the memorial service on the island, which is carried out by dedicated Self-Defense Force planes.

At the memorial service held in August 2022, the bereaved families of the soldiers went to the island.

Akemi Imai (52), one of the bereaved families who participated, had a grandfather who was a soldier in the former Japanese Navy.

Her grandfather ran a seafood processing company in Hokkaido, but at the age of 35, she volunteered to enlist.

It is believed that he later died while on the battlefield for Iwo Jima.

This time, Mr. Imai visited the island for the first time to fulfill the wish of his mother, who died of illness last year.

Before she died, her mother kept saying, "I want to see where her father died."

Akemi Imai:

“I heard that it was not an easy island to visit. I was finally able to meet my grandfather, but when I think about my mother who was unable to reach the island, I can’t stop crying.”

Communicating the current state of the island with the latest technology

There are people who want to respond to this desire to see the island.

Reima Nishimura (40) is the chairman of the "National Iwo Jima Third Generation Association" made up of the grandchildren of former islanders.

Ms. Nishimura's grandparents were from Iwo Jima, and she remembers the words of her grandmother, who passed away seven years ago.

Reima Nishimura:

“I was once told to mutter, ‘Don’t forget about Iwo Jima.

Members of Mr. Nishimura and others are trying to create a "VR map" of the island together with the "Japan Junior Chamber Kanto District Council", which conducts a memorial service for the island.

The current state of the island is reproduced based on the images taken on Iwo Jima, and you can freely explore this virtual space with your avatar.

We have arranged photos showing the situation at that time in the map so that you can check what kind of places you visited before the war.

The footage used as the material for the VR map was filmed in conjunction with the memorial service held in August 2020.

At the summit of Mt. Suribachi, which is known for raising the Stars and Stripes by the US military, the whole was captured with a 360-degree camera.

The material is imported into a special software that creates a virtual space and is processed three-dimensionally.

This time, what was reproduced is "Iougaoka", the center of the island, where there was a school playground and a factory for squeezing lemongrass oil before the war.

Sulfur is scattered here and there, and the characteristics of the area with many stones are realistically reproduced.

Former islander: "I wanted my brothers to be by my side"

Mr. Nishimura visited a woman to see this video.

Tokiko Okuyama, a former islander, is 89 years old.

She is close to Nishimura's grandmother, who taught her about life on the island before the war.

Ms. Tokiko Okuyama

“The most fun I had on the island was the Obon Festival. It was an everlasting summer island where everyone wore their clothes to go swimming in the sea, and the beach opened on New Year’s Day. All the islanders were like family. We were self-sufficient in everything, so we didn't have electricity, gas or running water, but we didn't have any problems."

However, the war robbed Mr. Okuyama of his peaceful life.

The year before the American army landed, Okuyama, who was 11 years old and had eight siblings, left the island with his sister and his father.

However, his two older brothers, aged 18 and 15, were ordered to help the army and remained on the island.

Tokiko Okuyama

"I told my brother, 'Let's go on a boat together.' But he said, 'I can't ride with you.' I wish you had told me

His wish for him to live was unfulfilled, and after the war, news arrived from the country that his brothers had died.

Mr. Okuyama spoke as follows, choking with tears.

Tokiko Okuyama

"I wanted my kind brothers to be by my side when I grew up."

"I can't go even if I want to" A former islander who saw VR

Mr. Nishimura decided to have Mr. Okuyama, who is sick and unable to go to the island, look at the VR map.

Mr. Okuyama used his avatar to walk near the school.

Ms. Tokiko Okuyama

"This is amazing. I miss this stone sticking to the rock. I was walking home from school. It reminded me of the old school. There is a school over here. There's a playground, there's a morning assembly table."

From the realistic images, the memories of those days are revived.

Ms. Tokiko Okuyama

“It was nostalgic and made me really happy. It feels like I came to Iwo Jima to visit a grave.

Mr. Nishimura and others loosened their cheeks at Mr. Okuyama's happy appearance.

Passing on the history of the island

Mr. Nishimura also showed the VR map at a gathering of former islanders and bereaved families.

"Don't forget about Iwo Jima,"

Mr. Nishimura engraves his grandmother's words into his heart and connects the memories of the distant island to the present.

Reima Nishimura:

“Iwo Jima was an island that had a rich life before the war, but that kind of life came to an end due to the war. I would like to study and use these latest tools to convey what happened on Iwo Jima and the current situation on Iwo Jima."

The VR map will be released on the Internet site in the future.

The range of the map is still limited to a part of the island, but Mr. Nishimura and others will continue to collect images of the island and expand the range.

Metropolitan Area Bureau Reporter Joined the Bureau

in 2017 after working as a newspaper reporter

Kazuyuki Ogaki In charge

of the

Metropolitan Government Club, Metropolitan Area Bureau