Bones of more than 20 people, along with a helmet, water bottle and other items believed to be from World War II, were found on Ie Shima, Okinawa, in August 2024. (Ie Village, Okinawa)
A landscaper working on a historical film about the Battle of Okinawa uncovered human remains last summer on Ie Shima, marking the first such discovery on the island in more than 20 years, according to Japanese officials.
Hiroki Chinen discovered the remains in August while digging a hole to plant a tree on a farm in the Nishimae district. The landscaping work was part of the set for “Ki No Ue No Guntai,” or “Soldiers on a Tree,” a movie based on a true story from the battle, an Ie village Welfare Division spokesman said Tuesday.
Ie Shima is a 9-square-mile island off the coast of Okinawa’s Motobu Peninsula.
The remains — bone fragments from an estimated 20 people — were unearthed roughly 6 to 10 feet underground, a spokesman for Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said by phone Friday. DNA testing is planned to help determine their origin.
“It’s difficult to tell at the moment if these remains are from Japanese or Americans,” he said.
Bones from more than 20 people, along with a helmet, water bottle and other items believed to be from World War II, were found on Ie Shima, Okinawa, in August 2024. (Ie Village, Okinawa)
In addition to the bones, Chinen discovered 193 artifacts, including a water bottle, wrench, belt buckle, medicine bottle, and a heavily damaged item resembling a kabuto, or Japanese combat helmet, a village Board of Education spokesman said by phone Tuesday. The items are now on display at the Hanikusuni Hall museum on the island.
“We cannot clearly say if they are from the Japanese imperial army because of the damage,” the spokesman said. It’s customary in Japan for some government officials to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
The last known discovery of human remains from the battle on Ie Shima came during Japan’s 2003 fiscal year, a spokesman from Okinawa Prefecture’s Social Welfare and War Victims Relief Division said. He declined to specify the month.
The Battle of Ie Shima began on April 16, 1945, as part of the second phase of the broader Battle of Okinawa. U.S. troops from the 77th Infantry Division landed on the island and secured its airfield by April 21, according to the U.S. Navy.
“Soldiers on a Tree,” directed by Okinawa-born filmmaker Kazuhiro Taira, tells the story of two Japanese soldiers who hid in a tree during the battle and survived for over two years, unaware the war had ended. The film is set for release in Okinawa on June 13 and across Japan on July 25 by Happinet Phantom Studios.
