Letters from Iwojima

Watched this movie today. It is the companion to a previous movie, Flag of Our Fathers. And it is by the same director, Clint Eastwood. This time, the movie explores the Battle on Iwojima from the view of the Japanese. It does this through the letters written by the Japanese soldiers stationed on Iwojima. These letters were addressed to their wives, parents, children, etc. It shows the humane side of the Japanese soldiers, that they were like the Americans that they were fighting. All of them (all of us too) have parents, and they had loved ones at home that were waiting for their return. This was expressed quite explicitly in one scene, in which a captured American soldier died holding a letter from his mother.

The movie focused a lot on Lieutenant General Kuribayashi Tadamichi, the overall commander in charge of the island's defence. He was an Army commander put in charge of both Army and Navy forces stationed on the island. Having been stationed in the US before (similar to Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku), he knew the futility of opposing US military and economic power, yet was determined to carry out his order to hold the island of Iwojima. He used his knowledge of the US military to develop a strategy of guerilla warfare designed to deny US forces full use of their technological edge. This proved to be so effective that a battle predicted by the US to take 5 days ended up taking 36 days before the island was captured.

In the movie, it showed that General Kuribayashi brought in Rear Admiral Ichimaru Rinosuke to aid him as the top commander for naval forces stationed on Iwojima. Interestingly, Fuji Television made a documentary drama on him and his involvement in the Battle of Iwojima, titled "硫黄島・戦場の郵便配達” (which translates into "Iwojima - Letters From the Battlefield"). Compared to the movie, this documentary drama was more touching, including the contents of actual letters from Japanese soldiers written when they were stationed on Iwojima. While Clint Eastwood made a great movie, to truly appreciate the human side of the Japanese soldiers stationed on Iwojima, you have to watch the documentary drama by Fuji Television.

A visit to Iwojima will make you appreciate the hardship that the Japanese soldiers had to endure. The weather is hot, there is a lack of water, and the tunnels are dark and some of them quite hot and humid. Having had the opportunity to go into some of these tunnels myself, I must say that I really salute those who spent days, even weeks, in those tunnels. Some of them were so hot and humid that it was difficult to even stay in them for more than 10 minutes. You can see some pictures taken by my friend, Kato Tomoaki, in one of my previous posts here. The whole island is sacred ground, being the final resting place of more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers and over 6000 US soldiers, with the bodies of more than 13,000 Japanese soldiers still not found. The two movies by Clint Eastwood, as well as the documentary drama by Fuji Television, finally gives these soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their countries the remembrance and recognition that is due them. May they rest in eternal peace, and may their spirit be remembered, their memories honoured.

The official site for the movie "Letters From Iwojima"
Another site about the movie "Letters From Iwojima"
"Letters From Iwojima" on Wikipedia

Trivia: Iwojima 硫黄島 is actually read as "Iwotou". However, the US called it Iwojima (proably due to a bad translation, since the Japanese word for "island" 島 can be read as shima/jima or tou), and the name has gained popularity since then. The name Iwotou is still remembered by those from older generations who served in the military, and this knowledge is passed down to the present generations in the Japanese military too. Wikipedia Japan's page on Iwojima also notes the use of the name Iwotou and its transition to being called Iwojima.