Northern Mariana Islands, World War II memorial in Saipan
View this item from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee via Digital Public Library of America University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Share this item

Copy to clipboard

Connect with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Contact this content partner to get more information about this item.

Northern Mariana Islands, World War II memorial in Saipan

User contributions

Share this contribution

World War II Memorials

By Roberto Santos | Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands | 2 Dec 2021

This is one of many memorials erected, most often, at cliffs around the island of Saipan, where Japanese civilians and soldiers lept to their deaths, believing it was more honorable than being captured by the invading American forces. The inscriptions engraved on the stones are in Japanese, featuring beautiful kanji characters, expressing old, traditional wishes for peaceful rest and remembrance of the tragedies of WWII that took place in these locations. I was familiar with these monuments as a child growing up on Saipan, but having studied Japanese language, culture and history, and spending several years in Japan makes revisiting these monuments such a profound, meditative experience. Among the most moving monuments are traditional poetry written and dedicated by the past Japanese emperor and empress, each engraved into a large block of granite, one at Banzai Cliff and the other at The Last Command Post. In the midst of the lingering resentment and trauma from the Japanese colonial period in the Marianas, I found the Japanese people I spoke to about Saipan during WWII approached the subject with so much solemnity and reflection.

Remember or recognise anything about this item? Let us know!

We would love to share your stories, thoughts, and memories on digitalpasifik.org

Contribute your story

What is the copyright status of this item?

All rights reserved
All rights reserved
This item is all rights reserved, with means you'll have to get permission from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before using it.
  • More information
    University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has this to say about the rights status of this item:
    • http://uwm.edu/libraries/digital-collections/copyright-digcoll/
More information
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has this to say about the rights status of this item:
  • http://uwm.edu/libraries/digital-collections/copyright-digcoll/

What can I do with this item?

You must always check with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to confirm the specific terms of use for this item. For more information, please see our use and reuse page. Based on this item's metadata from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee this is our understanding of what you can do:
  • Non-infringing use
    Non-infringing use
    NZ copyright law does not prevent every use of a copyright work, and this item may be hosted by an international institute or organisation. You should consider what you can and cannot do with a copyright work.
Non-infringing use
Non-infringing use
NZ copyright law does not prevent every use of a copyright work, and this item may be hosted by an international institute or organisation. You should consider what you can and cannot do with a copyright work.
  • No sharing
    No sharing
    You may not copy and/or share this item with others without further permission. This includes posting it on your blog, using it in a presentation, or any other public use.
No sharing
No sharing
You may not copy and/or share this item with others without further permission. This includes posting it on your blog, using it in a presentation, or any other public use.
  • No modifying
    No modifying
    You are not allowed to adapt or remix this item into any other works.
No modifying
No modifying
You are not allowed to adapt or remix this item into any other works.
No commercial use
No commercial use
You may not use this item commercially.
Digital Public Library of America
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Welcome and warm Pasifik greetings

The information on this site has been gathered from our content partners.


The names, terms, and labels that we present on the site may contain images or voices of deceased persons and may also reflect the bias, norms, and perspective of the period of time in which they were created. We accept that these may not be appropriate today.


If you have any concerns or questions about an item, please contact us.