In preparation for the Battle of Okinawa, Japan constructed a tunnel complex to serve as the headquarters of its naval forces on the island in 1944. Japanese forces fought from inside the tunnel complex until 13 June 1945, when the final survivors either sallied forth in one last counterattack or committed suicide. The complex was sealed after the war, but some of it was reopened to visitors in 1970, along with a small museum and peace memorial. Today, it is one of the most poignant historical reminders of the battle on the island.
The tunnel complex is one of the best places on Okinawa to appreciate the intensity of the combat that engulfed the island from April to June 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa—one of the largest amphibious operations in history. Known as Operation Iceberg to Allied forces, it included seven U.S. divisions with more than 180,000 Marines and soldiers fighting ashore and the largest amphibious task force of the war with 1,600 ships and 3,000 aircraft.
Today, it is difficult to conceive the scale of the battle remembered by Okinawans as the “Typhoon of Steel,” which claimed the lives of more than 12,000 Americans and as many as 300,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians and saw as many as 2.7 million shells fired at or on the island. Because Okinawa was mostly rural at the time of the battle, and the urban areas in Naha and Nago were almost completely destroyed, there are few buildings or landscapes that bear evidence of battle. But inside the tunnels of the former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters visitors can step into a piece of history that is largely unchanged since the war and get a sense of the closeness and ferocity of the combat that took place across the island.
The site of a former castle, the complex is located on a steep hill that offers commanding views of downtown Naha and the port and is only a few minutes from the airport by taxi. The views from outside the bunker complex leave no doubt as to why it was chosen as a site for the Navy’s headquarters during the battle. Before visitors enter the tunnels, there are a few small exhibits that display photos from the battle and its immediate aftermath. There are also artifacts that have been excavated from the tunnel complex in recent years, as well as strings with thousands of paper cranes that represent grief and prayers for peace. A larger exhibit covers the Battle of Okinawa and its place in the Pacific war. By themselves, the exhibits would not be particularly notable, but they provide important context for the tunnel complex. Most, but not all, of the exhibit is provided with English translation.
The highlight of the museum is a famous telegram sent by the leader of the Japanese naval forces, Rear Admiral Minoru Ota, to his superiors that lauds the contributions of the Okinawan people to the battle and requests that they “be given special consideration from this day forward.” This telegram is mentioned throughout the museum and is an important piece of history for understanding the relationship between Okinawa and the Japanese mainland.
The tunnel system itself is a several hundred feet long with small rooms and chambers accessed by a long staircase (there is not an accessible option). The full extent of the tunnel complex is not open to visitors because parts of it are still being excavated. Most of the rooms in the complex are bare except for small artist renderings of how they might have looked at the time of the battle. The bare concrete and sandstone walls are simple and largely unchanged since the battle. The most impactful areas are a room
with plaster still scarred from grenade blasts during the final suicide of the Japanese defenders in 1945 and the small chamber where Admiral Ota composed his famous telegram.
For a more complete understanding of the battle, the former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters would be best visited in conjunction with other historical sites, such as Shurijo Castle Park, which sits above the former Japanese 32nd Army Headquarters, Sugarloaf Hill, Hacksaw Ridge, or the initial landing beaches. Any visitor to Okinawa who is interested in maritime history more broadly also should visit the Okinawa Prefectural Museum located in downtown Naha. The museum is housed along with the Prefectural Art Museum in a massive concrete building meant to invoke the architecture of Okinawan castles. It covers the history of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands, which necessitates a focus on the region’s maritime history from prehistory to the present.
Though the tunnel complex is best visited as part of tour of sites and museums, if you only have time for one his-torical stop in Okinawa, it should be the former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters, because it is both the most unique and well-preserved battlefield site in Okinawa.
