Okinawa, Japan.

I've made it.
My piano.

My very own piano.

Momoko grew up
in a time of war.

No matter how bad conditions were,
she never forgot the piano.

You'll be OK.

I'm removing the maggots
in your wound.

Momoko was enlisted
as a military nurse.

"So this is war!
This is the Battle of Okinawa!"

Through the power of music,
a young girl outlived a war.

This is the story of Momoko.

My name is Yonaha Momoko.

I was born in March, 1928.

I loved to play outside and
was never in a hurry to go home.

I'd go where the paths were overgrown
and catch dragonflies.

I didn't go home until after dark.

I still remember playing a lot.

This story is based on eyewitness
accounts recorded 2005-2008.

Momoko?

Did you line up
your "geta" properly?
- Yes.

Can you bring some water
from the well?
- Yes.

And when you're done
it's time to study.

Yes.

I drew black and white keys
on a piece of paper.

2 black keys, then 3...
The sound of a piano fascinated me.

I've made it.
My piano.

My very own piano.

Momoko, when are you going to study?

That's all you ever say.
"Time to study!"

I wanted to study
but never had the chance.

That's why I want you to do well.

I know.

In July 1937,
Japan went to war with China.

In 4th grade, when I was
about 11 years old

we were told to make little flags
and wave them

when the soldiers passed
in front of the school.

And we were told to cheer.

In the beginning,
we didn't feel anything.

1940
Momoko was 12 years old.

Momoko heard about a music event
at a nearby school.

Himeyuri School.

"Silvery Waves"
by A.D. Wyman.

I was enchanted when I heard
that teacher play the piano.

I was filled with admiration.

Kochinda Keii
from Miyako Island and
a graduate of the Tokyo Music School.

You don't look familiar.

Do you like the piano?

Yes.

Someday I want to play Silvery Waves
on the Himeyuri School piano.

"This is a special news report.

The Imperial Japanese Army and Navy

are now at war with the US and
the UK in the Pacific Ocean."

Meanwhile, Momoko was studying
for her middle school entrance exams.

Of 300 applicants to Himeyuri School
only 40 were admitted.

I'd dreamed of going there
so I was delighted when I got in.

The students gathered there
were all quite talented.

The Himeyuri School had a reputation
for being free and enterprising.

It was the only school in Okinawa
with a pool.

Math, English, Japanese...
the teachers were excellent.

I remember Dostoevsky and Turgenev.

Crime and Punishment,
War and Peace

I loved the reading assignments.

I was deeply moved by "Stagecoach."

I thought,
I get to see movies like this in school!

Even now, I remember
many of the scenes in that movie.

Even in the middle of a war,
the younger teachers

wanted to show us movies
that were full of humanity.

I asked Kochinda Sensei
if I could play the piano.

He said "Yes,
when no other teacher is playing."

When I told him I didn't know
how to play, he showed me how.

It's not enough to move
your fingers precisely.

First, with your right hand...

What did you hear?

It sounds like rain.

Each person hears it differently
but yes, it does sound like rain.

It's as if the sound changes
every time the wind blows.

And what about the left hand?

It's different when Sensei plays it.

Like drops of water falling
from an eave.

Yes,

I grew up on a tiny island.

There was no piano

but I loved music.

I often listened to the rain

and it sounded like music to me.

Sounds have their own expressions.

You must find your own
distinct expressions.

It's not just a matter of
moving your fingers.

You sing

and play

and listen closely to the sound
you are making.

I probably shouldn't say it,
but he seemed so fragile

almost feminine

but when he sat down at the piano
he became strong.

His playing was powerful.
It was impressive.

June, 1942
The Battle of Midway.

Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers
and suffered a crushing defeat.

The US seized the initiative and this
became a turning point in the Pacific War.

Then one day,
my older brother got married.

We will be waiting for you.

I understand.

After the ceremony,
my brother suddenly left.

I go now, for my country.

After a while, we were given
a plain wood box.

Just when I thought he had gone,
my brother returned in this way.

After that, this happened
all the time.

A soldier would leave for the front
and return in a white box.

Before the Battle of Okinawa, a new
principal was assigned to the school.

He admonished us to
"Say nothing when it's time to die."

"Don't allow yourself to be captured.
Fight for your country to your last breath."

We were taught to
"Act with respect and grace to the end."

The samurai killed themselves
to protect their honor.

You too are samurai.

"The way of the samurai is found in death."

Sensei, isn't the way we live
more important to our country?

You are being impertinent!

I was scolded for suggesting that
how we live is more important.

There were lots
of new regulations

controlling the books
we could read

to keep us from becoming too liberal.

We weren't to read foreign books

although we did so in hiding.

"to die"

One teacher wrote the word
"spirit" on the board.

He said, "We're being told our
spiritual strength can win the war

but can we overcome
their physical strength?"

"matter" "spirit"

The students argued that our
spirit was strong.

Physical abundance didn't matter
so there was nothing to worry about.

But he countered, "Spirit can't
overcome physical strength."

That teacher was a straight talker.

The principal said he was a liberal

and he was summoned shortly.

"Did the students realize that teachers
with foresight were being transferred?"

Yes, that was true of our
English teacher as well.

The teachers who taught us a lot,

those who were the most interesting,

they were the ones
who were transferred.

The teachers we liked
were all sent somewhere,

to the Japanese mainland
or into the military.

Mr. Kochinda,

playing Beethoven is fine
but look at the situation we're in.

The enemy approaches.

The Imperial headquarters say
"Music is military ordnance."

Music can also become a weapon.

Could you compose a song
for your country?

"Why not give your life
for peace in the East?"

We sang that song a lot.

The Field Encampment Song
"Why not give your life
for peace in the East?"

We thought we were fighting this war
to make peace.

We thought the war was right,
that it was just.

He wants me to write a military song
but there's a new one almost every day.

"Another warning siren,
another air strike..."

Musical maestros compete
to write the best military song,

music that boosts the people's morale
and drives them to the battlefield.

"Rhapsody in Blue"
by George Gershwin.

I wanted to study in America
and further develop my talents.

July, 1944
The U.S. Army took Saipan,
a Japanese territory.

Arriving in Saipan, America is
only 2000 kilometers from Japan.

The distance from Saipan to Tokyo
is 2280 kilometers and with a compass

we can draw a line to Kyushu,
Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The Japanese military
occupied the Himeyuri School.

Training and volunteer work
took precedence over school work.

Day in, day out,
we did construction work.

There was something missing
in my heart, a feeling of emptiness.

I became restless when I couldn't
play the piano.

There were no classrooms,
nowhere to study.

They were all being used by the military.

We had no classes.

There were no shoes in the
shoe cupboard in the entrance

because none of the students were there.

I figured it was OK for me
to play the piano

so I went to the school almost every day.

I thought, "Shall I play a sonatine?
Should I play Czerny?"

I worked hard on
Beethoven's 15th Sonata.

"Piano Sonata No. 15"
by Ludwig van Beethoven.

March, 1945
Okinawa Prefecture and the military
decided to create a student corps.

The students are being asked to
help the military as nurses.

They won't be on the front line.

It's hospital work, so it will be safe.

Please give us your permission.

If you say so,

I will trust you.

Please take care of my daughter.

"We will go to the battlefield shortly,
as part of the Student Corps.

Our teachers have asked us to
get permission from our parents."

- You asked your father?
- Yes.

He shouted, "I didn't raise you
for 16 years just to see you die."

I was taken aback.

It wasn't what I had expected.

I thought my father would say
"Do your best!"

But he said
"Girls shouldn't go to war!"

At the time, I couldn't
understand him.

As a school teacher, my father told
his students, "Die for your country."

He was involved in that indoctrination

so I was all the more shocked
by what he said.

I said "They'll say you're unpatriotic.
They'll call you a traitor!"

And he got even angrier.

Finally, I added
"The thought police will come!"

I felt an aversion to
my father's way of thinking.

- You did?
- Yes, I think everyone did.

If someone said
"We're going to lose the war."

there was a feeling of discomfort
because it went against national policy.

I didn't understand why
my father would say such things.

No matter how hard I tried
to convince him, he wouldn't listen

so I left home
in the middle of the night

and walked 52 kilometers.

Along the way,
I was overcome by sadness.

March 22, 1945
1 day before the U.S. Army
began their attack on Okinawa.

Again today, we worked
on the military encampment.

I'm really tired.

You're practicing late.

Sensei, can you play something?

"Piano Sonata No. 14
Moonlight Sonata"
by Ludwig van Beethoven.

His playing became more intense
as his fingers struck the keys.

I watched in amazement.

I felt like I'd gone to Heaven.

I wanted to go on like that forever.

I can no longer see the keys

so let's stop here.

It's time to go.

March 23, 1945
The U.S. Army began their
attack on Okinawa.

We were told "The enemy will land soon.
Cooperate with the Japanese military.

Have pride as Himeyuri students
and don't bring shame to our name."

When we were told this,
we had no doubts or worries.

We thought we'd win the war
and be back in school in a week.

That night
the Himeyuri Student Corps was formed.

222 students, all girls, headed for
the Okinawa Army Hospital.

40 tunnels were being dug in a hill.

The students divided into groups
and continued this work.

The hospital consisted only of
rows of wooden beds.

The war was only a step away

but the tunnels were filled with our
noisy young voices.

We sang and the mood was lively.

The number of injured soldiers grew
and the field hospital filled to capacity.

You'll be OK.

I'm in pain.

You'll get better.

It hurts.

I'm removing the maggots
in your wound.

Student, help me.

Student, help me.

Water please.

This is today's ration of rice.

The field hospital was engulfed in flames
and one after another the students died.

I thought "So this is war!
This is the Battle of Okinawa!"

I was shaking all over.

I couldn't believe I was about to die.

2 months after the U.S. Army
landed on Okinawa.

the surviving students fled
to the southern tip of the island.

Dividing up, they hid in 6 caves.

We could no longer sing

and we only spoke when necessary.

We couldn't even speak.
That's how weak we had become.

Sensei!

It has been a while.

This is the first time
since we left the music room.

3 months.

Sensei, how have you been?

Some older students taught me
the song that you wrote.

It was very nice.

Momoko,

you must not die!

How can you say that when
we're surrounded by the enemy?

Many of my friends have died.

I think this is the end for me too.

You must not die! You must live!

How can a person live
in these conditions?

I am telling you to live because
you can, you must.

When I saw my teacher,
I remembered March 22nd.

You must not die!

You must live!

He was utterly exhausted.

He had come to the end but
he wanted me to live, not to die.

He was saying,
"Don't take your life!"

That was the first time anyone
had said "Live! You must live!"

The U.S. Army was closing in
on the caves in the south.

They asked those who were
hiding in the caves to surrender.

Sensei, what should I do?

I don't want to disgrace my school

or to shame my parents and relatives.

I must hide my name.

Mother!

Mother!

Of the 222 Himeyuri students drafted
into the Student Corps, 123 died.

Of Okinawa's 430,000 residents,
some 120,000 died.

Almost 30% of the population.

2007.

After the war,
Momoko cried all the time

but the words of an elderly neighbor
gave her the resolve to move forward.

He looked at my sullen face and said

"You are making matters worse.

Your tears will only bring
more sadness."

This made me think
"How can I be strong?

I'm not the only one.

There are countless people like me
everywhere in Okinawa."

When I came to that realization
I was able to sort out my feelings.

My elderly neighbor's words have
pulled me along, time and again.

I must take on each challenge
that appears before me.

I get stuck a lot.

"Farewell Song"
by Kochinda Keii.

Kochinda Sensei wrote this song
for the Himeyuri School graduation

but died in the war,
before he could share it with his students.