By Nanami Ishida, University of Shimane
A group of Japanese students from the University of Shimane and Yamagata University visited Pearl Harbor, the most significant place in Hawaii that changed the relationship between Japan and the United States.
After getting of a boat, the students landed on the USS Arizona Memorial. The white structure standing over the remains of the USS Arizona, the students observed the sunken dark ship underwater, but parts of the wreck were still seen over the water.
The Japanese students learned the history of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Although they knew the history from textbooks, visiting the site had them experience the horrors of the attack. It was painful to feel the tragedy of the crew trapped in the sunken ship in a few minutes. Hearing the story of the horrors, the students felt the wound of the crew and their family members directly. The fact the damage was caused by the Japanese broke the heart of the Japanese students.
The Japanese students also felt a pain of guilt. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked on Pearl Harbor and sank the American battleships including sailors on board under the water, causing the US to join World War II. As they learned the significance of the attack on Pearl Harbor in the world history, they thought that learning history was very important so as not to repeat the same mistake again.
