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DESCRIPTION:&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Virtual WWII Battle of Okinawa lecture hosted by Ga
 rdena’s Okinawa Association&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;\n\nOn July 1 (Friday) at 7 p.m
 . Pacific Time\, the &lt;strong&gt;Okinawa Association of America (OAA)&lt;/strong&gt;
  in Gardena\, California will host their annual &lt;em&gt;Irei no Hi:&lt;/em&gt; Remem
 bering the Battle of Okinawa live on Zoom. &lt;strong&gt;A special guest lecture
 r from Okinawa\, Harumi Miyagi\, will talk about the forced mass civilian 
 deaths on Zamami Island.&lt;/strong&gt;\n\nThe event will be in Japanese with En
 glish subtitles for the presentation and live English translation for the 
 Q&amp;amp\;A. Admission is free but donations are very much appreciated. &lt;stro
 ng&gt;REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED (Zoom link and phone number to be emailed): &lt;a
  href=&quot;https://tinyurl.com/oaairei22&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;tinyurl.com/oaairei2
 2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;\n\nWorld War II’s Battle of Okinawa has been called one t
 he bloodiest land battles in the Pacific\, with historians calling it a 
 “war of attrition” by the Imperial Japanese Army to prevent the U.S. m
 ilitary from reaching the Japanese mainland. The U.S. military landed in t
 he Kerama Islands (made up of Tokashiki\, Zamami\, and Kerama) on March 26
 \, 1945. Okinawan survivors state that the mass civilian deaths that occur
 red during this time were coerced by the Imperial Japanese Army. In 2007\,
  Japan’s Ministry of Education ordered the incidents to be removed from 
 high school textbooks. Guest lecturer &lt;strong&gt;Harumi Miyagi&lt;/strong&gt; will 
 talk about these horrific incidents based on her research and interviews w
 ith survivors.\n\n&lt;strong&gt;Harumi Miyagi&lt;/strong&gt; is a historian\, lecturer
 \, and writer born in Zamami. She is currently the vice chairperson of the
  New Okinawa Prefectural History Editorial Committee (Shin Okinawa-ken-shi
  Henshū Iinkai) and chairperson of the Women’s History Subcommittee. As
  a lecturer\, she has spoken at Okinawa International University\, the Uni
 versity of the Ryūkyūs\, and the Prefectural Government office about wom
 en’s history and gender studies\, peace and human rights\, and the inher
 itance of &lt;em&gt;tootoomee&lt;/em&gt; (Okinawan mortuary tablets). Her books includ
 e “What My Mother Left Behind: New Testimonies of Mass Suicide in Zamami
  Island\,” “Women’s History as a Minority” (co-authored)\, and “
 Listen to the Damage of Sexual Violence” (co-authored).\n\nThis year mar
 ks the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa. In Okinawa\, a memorial 
 day known as &lt;em&gt;Irei no Hi&lt;/em&gt; (慰霊の日) is observed annually on Ju
 ne 23\, the date which was documented as the end of the Battle of Okinawa 
 in 1945. The goal of the OAA&#x27;s annual &lt;em&gt;Irei no Hi:&lt;/em&gt; Remembering the
  Battle of Okinawa event is to memorialize the nearly 150\,000 lives that 
 were lost during the war and post-war years and to inform the next generat
 ion about Okinawa’s history and current issues. \n\nThe &lt;strong&gt;Okinawa
  Association of America\, Inc. (OAA)&lt;/strong&gt; is a public benefit\, charit
 able organization that is dedicated to preserving and promoting Okinawan c
 ulture. Formed by first generation Okinawan immigrants (issei)\, the OAA h
 as grown into a multi-generational organization that hosts numerous events
  throughout the year for the community (cultural lectures\, performances\,
  social gatherings)\, senior-focused activities\, and opportunities for yo
 uth/young adult members of Okinawan descent. 2019 marked the organization
 ’s 110th anniversary as well as the 20th anniversary of the OAA Center i
 n Gardena.\n\n&lt;em&gt;Ippee nifee deebiru&lt;/em&gt; (thank you very much) to our co
 mmunity supporters &lt;a href=&quot;https://shimanchupodcast.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;
 &gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ichariba Choodee: An Okinawan Voices and Stories Podcast&lt;/strong&gt;
 &lt;/a&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://shimanchumag.carrd.co/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;
 &gt;Shimanchu nu Kwii Magazine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.
DTSTAMP:20240419T183750Z
SUMMARY:Irei no Hi: Remembering the Battle of Okinawa (VIRTUAL LECTURE)
URL:/en/events/2022/07/01/irei-no-hi-remembering-the-battle-of-okinawa-vir/
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