The Battle of Okinawa
1971
149 minutes
Overview
The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.
Top Cast
Keiju Kobayashi
General Ushijima
Yūzō Kayama
Tetsuro Tamba
Lieutenant General Isamu Cho
Tatsuya Nakadai
Colonel Hiromichi Yahara
Mayumi Ozora
Kenji Sahara
Katsuhiko Sasaki
Communications Officer Miyake
Hideyo Amamoto
Okinawa Regional Officer
Ryō Ikebe
Rear Admiral Ota
Ichirō Nakatani
Chief of Staff Ueno
Gorō Mutsumi
Kamatari Fujiwara
Takamaru Sasaki
Akira Yamanouchi
Eijirō Tōno
Sachio Sakai
Ren Yamamoto
Sergeant Omori
Seishirō Kuno
Chōtarō Tōgin
Wataru Ōmae
Shōichi Hirose
Yutaka Sada
Kazuo Suzuki
Yutaka Nakayama
Zan Fujita
Hiroshi Hasegawa
Masao Imafuku
Kōji Iwamoto
Haruya Katō
Hiroyuki Kawase
Naoya Kusakawa
Machiko Naka
Toshiko Nakano
Masanobu Oki
Kunie Tanaka
Wakako Sakai
Akira Nishikawa
Kenjirō Ishiyama
Shin Kishida
Shigeru Kōyama
Michitarō Mizushima
Etsushi Takahashi
Kotaro Tomita
Jun Hamamura
Kōji Mitsui