Citation

Shoko Y. Regional Stud. (Okinawa) 2005; 1: 55-67.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Institute of Regional Study, University of Okinawa)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

comes up in plays even after a half century has passed since the calamity of the Battle of Okinawa. It appears as if Okinawans are trying to reall their tragic memories of the war over and over again. There are two distinctive characteristics of modern Okinawan plays. The first characteristics is that women play central roles in war plays. The second is that themes of the plays are also related to Okinawa's socio-political sphere; specifically the huge U.S. military bases that have stationed in Okinawa, making it the key stone of the Pacific.The play 'CAFE RYCOM' which won an Okinawa City Play Award in 2000, displays the above two characteristics. The play was written by Kazumi Uezato, a dentist and a political activist, and was directed by Kyoko Teruya on November 3rd and 4th 2000 in the "Ashibina-" theatre, and reproduced in 2001. The majority of the audience appreciated it well as the play displayed what many Okinawans experienced during and after the war.The play covers World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Its long span of time shows the position of Okinawa caught between the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. occupation of Okinawa which lasted for 27 years from 1945 to reversion to Japan in 1972 ironically indicates Okinawa's geo-political importance and the eventual pressure applied to Okinawans.The main story of the play is focused on the love story of an Okinawan woman, Natuko, who was a nurse working for the Japanese military, but who was actually raped and treated as a sort of comfort woman by a Japanese captain during the land Battle of Okinawa. After the war, she falls in love with an American war photographer, Highman, at CAFE RYCOM. However, Highman's loss of memory in the Korean War forced them to separate for 18 years, during which time she gives birth to a boy and raises him while working as a dancer and singer. At CAFE RYCOM, some women supposedly sell their bodies while raising their children. This shows the multiple gender of Okinawan women.