Himeyuri-no-to, located in Itoman City in southern Okinawa, is a stone monument which was built to pray for the souls of the high school students and teachers, who served as war nurses during the Battle of Okinawa. The student nurse corps named “Himeyuri Gakuto-tai” was composed of 222 students and 18 teachers from two local high schools, but 136 of them lost their lives in the war. The tragedy has been the subject of many movies and novels,which reminds Japanese people of the value of peace and human lives.
(沖縄の南、糸満市にあるひめゆりの塔は、看護要員として沖縄戦に動員された女子生徒と教師たちの鎮魂のために建立された慰霊碑である。「ひめゆり学徒隊」と呼ばれた学徒看護隊は 沖縄の二つの学校から222人の女子生徒と18人の教師から成り、うち136名が戦争で命を落とした。この悲劇は小説や映画となり、日本の人々に平和と命の尊さを思い出させる)