“We are enjoying peace,” declared the visiting widows of Japanese soldiers who fought in the Battle of Saipan in 1944.
Sadako Suzuki, 94, and Emiko Makino, 89, hailing from Aichi prefecture, had been making an annual pilgrimage to Saipan to pay homage to their departed husbands, whose remains they had yet to recover decades after they set foot on Saipan.
Both Suzuki and Makino were members of the Aichi Mariana Kensuikai, a collective that makes an annual pilgrimage to Saipan to honor the victims of war.
Having never seen their husbands return to Japan, the two widows had remained unmarried since. Suzuki’s husband, Munaji, was conscripted into military service shortly after the birth of their first and only son in April 1944, and was promptly dispatched to Saipan.
Reflecting on their brief time together, Suzuki reminisced that she and her husband spent a mere six months as a couple. Nevertheless, during that fleeting period, she found him to be remarkably kind, particularly in his care for her parents.
Recalling his final words before departing for war — “You take care. I will come back” — Suzuki lamented his absence. Munaji, a prominent banker at the time of their meeting, had acquainted himself with her mother, and the two swiftly tied the knot amid the rush of wartime nuptials.
Having raised their son single-handedly, Suzuki, an educator, mourned his premature death from cancer and had been living by herself. Despite the passing years, she continued to make the journey to Saipan, having done so over 40 times, each visit punctuated by fervent prayers for her late husband and son, whom she aspired to raise with integrity, purity, and resilience.
Likewise, Makino exchanged vows with her husband in 1943, at the tender age of 18, while he was 24 and serving in the military. Meeting him by chance near her home as he collected bamboo, Makino embarked on a marriage characterized by sporadic reunions due to her husband’s military duties.
Resolute in her commitment, Makino had eschewed offers of remarriage, remaining steadfast in her devotion to her departed spouse. Carrying his photograph wherever she roamed, she marked her 38th pilgrimage to Saipan in 2014 with a solemn vow to visit Gokuraku Danni, or “Heaven’s Valley,” near Mt. Tapochau, where she besought blessings upon her husband’s spirit.
In the absence of direct communication, Makino cherished a letter from Saipan, penned by a teacher named Nakajima Hideko, which reassured her that Saipan was a place of solace, despite the constraints on soldier’s correspondence with loved ones back home.
As Makino offered her prayers to her beloved husband, she expressed gratitude for the cherished memories they shared, whispering softly, “Thank you, always.”
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