Kakazu Ridge Park (Kakazu Takadai Koen)

Kakazu Ridge (嘉数高地) is a 280-foot-high coral escarpment located in what is now Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture. During the Battle of Okinawa (April–June 1945), it formed the northernmost strongpoint of the Japanese 32nd Army's Shuri Line — an elaborate network of fortified positions stretching across the island's narrow waist from Kakazu in the west to Skyline Ridge in the east.

The Japanese defenders, commanded by Colonel Munetatsu Hara, had spent months preparing Kakazu Ridge with a subterranean honeycomb of caves, tunnels, pillboxes, and interconnected passageways. The positions were masterfully sited on reverse slopes, allowing defenders to shelter from American artillery and air attacks, then emerge from caves to rain mortar rounds and grenades on troops advancing up the forward slope. An estimated 1,200 Japanese soldiers garrisoned the ridge.

On April 8–9, 1945, Colonel Edwin May's 383rd Infantry Regiment (96th Infantry Division) launched the first major assault on Kakazu Ridge without preliminary artillery support, hoping to achieve surprise. Lieutenant Willard Mitchell's company reached the crest at dawn but was immediately pinned down by devastating crossfire. PFC Edward Moskala distinguished himself by single-handedly eliminating multiple machine gun positions and killing approximately 25 enemy soldiers while providing rear-guard fire for three hours; he was killed shielding a wounded comrade and posthumously received the Medal of Honor.

The initial assault failed catastrophically. The 383rd Infantry suffered over 300 casualties, with its 1st Battalion reduced to half strength. Subsequent attacks between April 9–12 by three Army divisions resulted in nearly 3,000 American casualties while killing over 4,000 Japanese defenders, yet failed to secure even a few hundred yards of the coral ridge. The Japanese employed their signature tactic of allowing Americans to reach the exposed crest, then counterattacking from hidden caves with grenades, satchel charges, and fixed bayonets in brutal hand-to-hand combat.

Kakazu Ridge was not finally secured until around April 21–24, 1945, when the Japanese defenders were rooted out to the last man. The battle stalled the American offensive for approximately three weeks and demonstrated the horrific cost of assaulting Japan's prepared defensive positions — a grim preview of the fighting that would continue at Maeda Escarpment (Hacksaw Ridge), Sugar Loaf Hill, and Shuri Castle.

After the war, the ridge was developed into Kakazu Takadai Park (嘉数高台公園), a peace memorial park. Visible war relics include a concrete wall riddled with bullet holes and a sealed underground Japanese bunker accessible via a staircase. The park's globe-shaped observatory (地球儀型展望台) stands at the summit, offering sweeping views encompassing MCAS Futenma (approximately 1 km east), Cape Zanpa, the Kerama Islands, and much of central Okinawa. The juxtaposition of the wartime battlefield with the ongoing presence of the American military base makes Kakazu Ridge Park a uniquely powerful site for understanding both the Battle of Okinawa and the continuing legacy of the U.S. military presence on Okinawa.

A京都の塔 (Kyoto Monument) commemorating Kyoto Prefecture soldiers who died in the battle also stands within the park grounds.