In the final hours of the Pacific War, Okinawa was the destination for Korean men conscripted as “military laborers” and Korean women taken as “comfort women.” Little is known about the number of casualties or their experiences. In 1989, Park Soonam started to track down the survivors of the Battle of Okinawa to record their testimonies. In 1990, Park visits Korea in search of former “military laborers” who had survived Okinawa and repatriated to Korea. The survivors vividly recount their experiences of their compatriots’ murder and about the “comfort women” to the Zainichi Korean female director. The film zeroes in on the murder of Korean “military laborers” and the presence of “comfort women” in Okinawa via testimonies of former Japanese soldiers.

An Okinawan photographer, Mao Ishikawa spent her early 20s working as a barmaid in establishments catered specifically to African American GIs stationed in Okinawa. “There was love,” as the tagline reads, her photography book, 『Red Flower – The Women of Okinawa』 captured the diaristic intimacy of friendships, love affairs, and wild nights shared amongst her social circle of that time.

First volume in the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

During World War II, many Japanese immigrants in Santos, Brazil, were forced to move to another place. Matsubayashi draws attention to the fact that 60% of the immigrants were from Okinawa. Based on testimonies from interviewees, this film reveals the hidden historical relationship between Okinawa and Brazil.

1979 film

Second volume in the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

Third volume in the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

Fourth volume in the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

Fifth volume in the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

Sixth volume in the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2013 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2014 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2015 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2016 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2017 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2018 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2019 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.

2020 special edition of the Okinawan Horror Stories series.