Himeyuri

2006

Himeyuri

ひめゆり

(c)ASIA Documentary Productions

Release Date: March, 23rd, 2007

Running Time: 130 min

Genre: Documentary , Feature

Color: Color

Screening Format: DVCAM

Screen Size: -

Sound Processing: Stereo

[ Directed by ]

SHIBATA Shohei

[ Produced by ]

[ Cast ]

22 Himeyuri survivors

[ Staff ]

HIMEYURI PEACE MUSEUM ── Supervisor
SAWAHATA Masanori ── Cinematography
KAWASAKI Tetsuya ── Cinematography
ICHINOSE Masafumi ── Cinematography
KAWAGUCHI Shinichiro ── Cinematography
YOSHINO Naoko ── Recording
ONAGE Ryo ── Recording
YAMANE Noriyuki ── Recording
ZAIZEN Ken ── Calligraphy
SUZUKI Toshiyuki ── Sound
URAO Kakuzo ── Music, Arrangement
KADOKURA Toru ── Sound Mixer
ICHIKAWA Chizuko ── Poster Design

[ Production Company ]

ASIA Documentary Productions, Coproduction: Himeyuri Alumnae Incorporated Foundation

[ Story ]

In 1945 towards the end of the Second World War. Okinawa suffered a ground war, involving the local residents. 222 female students, aged between 15 and 22, were mobilized at very short notice as nursing personnel and assigned to the front. These were the girls who were later referred to as "the Himeyuri Students". They were assigned to the battle ground under fire. The girls carried out various duties without sleep or rest, such as providing nursing care for injured Japanese soldiers, assisting surgery, disposing of bodies, and many of them became victims of the war.
This is a documentary that records the testimony of the surviving twenty-two girls of "the Himeyuri Students". The film follows the girls for three months, and consists of three parts; Chapter 1 "Prologue, wartime mobilization nursing activities", Chapter 2 "Retreat to the south demobilization order" and Chapter 3 "Roaming towards death". Witnesses visited the old battle grounds and gave testimony of their experiences at the sites. The film was directed by Shohei Shibata. The film received the Special Award from the Japan Congress of Journalists in 2007 and the Bunka-cho Film Prize 2007: Documentary Grand Prize Film from the Agency for Cultural Affairs.