Cornerstone of Peace

The Cornerstone of Peace (平和の礎, Heiwa no Ishiji) stands on Mabuni Hill in Itoman City, the site of the Japanese 32nd Army headquarters and the scene of the final desperate fighting of the Battle of Okinawa in late June 1945. The Battle of Okinawa (April 1 – June 22, 1945) was one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Pacific War, resulting in an estimated 200,000 or more deaths — roughly half of whom were Okinawan civilians.

Under Okinawa Governor Masahide Ōta, the prefecture held a design competition for a memorial that would honour every individual who died in the battle, regardless of which side they fought on or whether they were combatants. In September 1993 a design entitled "Everlasting Waves of Peace" was selected. The design comprises concentric arcs of wavelike black granite steles arranged in a semicircular pattern radiating outward from a central "Eternal Flame of Peace."

The monument was unveiled on 23 June 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, a date observed annually in Okinawa as "Irei no Hi" (Memorial Day). The 116 granite stones bear a total text length of approximately 2,200 metres (7,200 ft). Names are inscribed in their native scripts — Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese — and organized by place of origin.

As of June 23, 2026, the inscribed names number 242,659: 149,703 from Okinawa Prefecture (listed by hamlet); 78,365 from other Japanese prefectures (by prefecture); 14,012 from the United States (by military unit); 82 from the United Kingdom; 381 from the Republic of Korea; 82 from North Korea; and 34 from Taiwan. For people from Okinawa the inscription covers not only the battle itself but all war deaths from the Manchurian Incident of 1931 to September 1945, so the total is not a count of the battle's dead. New names continue to be added each year as previously unknown victims are identified.

The Cornerstone of Peace is notable among war memorials for commemorating all victims equally — soldiers and civilians, from all nations involved. Its design was inspired in part by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., but its inclusive approach to memorialization set a new standard. The memorial has become a place of pilgrimage, reflection, and education, and serves as the centrepiece of the annual June 23 memorial ceremony attended by national and prefectural leaders.