The Cost（by Mitsuji Chinen）

写真は沖縄県公式首里城復興サイトより

We are grateful for the crash of the Osprey twenty years ago.
It was a tremendous cost, but we are truly grateful.

The pilot who was flying the aircraft said, "I was flying the aircraft while watching the beautifully shining moon, when suddenly it was enveloped in a mysterious light, spun horizontally, and crashed into the bailey (Unah) of Shuri Castle. It was unable to function at all, as if something was controlling it," he said. The high-temperature exhaust heat from the turbine burned Shuri Castle to the ground, and everyone aboard crawled under the raging flames to escape to the Shurei Gate, where they stared in stunned horror at the fire that burned to the sky.

But as it turned out, that crash brought us the peace and tranquility we had long sought!

The Osprey flew over us every day, at any time and any place. When it crashed on the beach in the Awa district of Yambaru 22 years ago, some major media even described it as an "emergency landing". Even now, when we look at the photos from that time, everyone must be wondering what kind of situation would be considered a crash if that was an emergency landing. Furthermore, the head of the U.S. military said, "I am proud of the pilot who guided the plane into the sea where there were no houses. The people of Okinawa should also honor him.”

However, 20 years ago, on October 31, 2019, at around 2:40 a.m., the Osprey crashed into Shuri Castle, burning down most of the cultural heritage of Okinawa, or rather the centuries-old Ryukyu Kingdom, but instead triggered a nationwide movement for peace, and while Japanese government had assumed that the situation would soon subside anyway, the media around the world and, more importantly, the entire crew aboard the downed Osprey told the media that they had done something irreparable when they heard the violent shrieks and roars of the Shuri Castle burning in flames before their eyes, and the American public responded to their honest tears and cries of regret by recognizing their responsibility for the loss of a world heritage and taking action, which led to the withdrawal of all U.S. military bases from Okinawa.

Today, the last remaining U.S. aircraft at Kadena Air Base returned to the United States. When the aircraft was out of sight, the governor gave the signal and the wire fence was pulled down, and children with musical instruments played as they entered the area. This area is to be turned into a vast park, and the previously returned Futenma Air Base and Camp Schwab have been turned into residential areas and shopping malls.

The burning down of all of Shuri Castle was the exchange for the disappearance of all things American from Okinawa.
The grief we Okinawans felt that day was tremendous. When we saw the images from the helicopter the next morning, we were speechless. Red roof tiles melted by the high heat and black ashes. The Osprey, which had left its shape as if it had not been damaged at all, was covering it. It looked as if it was about to fly away from the site, burning everything away with the heat of its own fuselage. The police refused to allow the U.S. to enter to investigate, but it was the first time in the existence of the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the U.S. I think the police could not accept Shuri Castle to go up in flames. Twenty years have passed since then, and although there have been many hardships, Shuri Castle has been rebuilt and all U.S. military bases have been eliminated from Okinawa. I am so grateful to be able to experience such a joyous occasion while I am still alive. The cost of burning down Shurijo Castle was too great, but the total return of the U.S. military bases was necessary to make up for the total destruction of Shuri Castle. We are one step closer to the peaceful Ryukyu kingdom that once had no weapons. Everyone, please come and visit us.

translated by DeepL touched up by Haruno Ogasawara

note: The role of an Osprey in the real incident of the burning down of Shuri castle in 2019 is totally fictitious.

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