| Original caption: “A Marine observation plane flies low over Naha, capital of Okinawa. On this flight, the tiny ship drew small arms and antiaircraft fire from the city which was in Japanese control at the time.” Naha is the capital city of Okinawa. Naha is located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921. Naha is the political, economic and educational center of Okinawa Prefecture. In the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Commodore Matthew C. Perry’s expeditionary squadron stopped in Naha en route to Tokyo in 1853; and the American ships visited several more times. The lithographs prepared from drawings made by the expedition’s official artist would be widely circulated. These images would provide the basis for 19th century impressions of the geography and people of the Ryūkyū islands. Ju Kushu (“Ten Ten air raid”) is the local name of the large-scale air raid carried out by the United States Navy against the Nansei Islands on October 10, 1944. It is also called the “Naha Air Raid” because the devastation suffered in Naha was markedly severe. The air raid started at about 0645 Hours in the morning. Okinawa came under attack in a ferocity that they had never experienced before. Anti-aircraft measures and civic emergency management capabilities were hopelessly inadequate. The number of United States Navy carrier-based planes exceeded a 1,000 and those of Japan’s opposing aircraft was only 50; and to make matters worse, almost all of the 50 warplanes did not fly due to delayed takeoff timing. Thus, Okinawa came under intense air strike. The American attack started on the main island of Okinawa, and extended to the Kerama Islands, Miyako Island, Ishigaki Island, Daito Islands, Okidaito Island, Amami Islands and Tokunoshima Island. The Imperial Japanese Army and Navy was crushingly defeated, losing the majority of warships and military facilities. Naha City suffered large-scale fires that lasted to the following day; this caused major damage to 90 percent of the city, more than 250 casualties, and 11,000 buildings. The Japanese government later protested against the American air raid by claiming military attacks against the downtown area was a war crime, since the downtown area was a non-military target. Japan’s claim was never brought before an international tribunal. The unmolested American Marine patrols into Naha on May 24, 1945, led to the crossing of the lower Asato on May 25 by the Reconnaissance Company of the 6th Marine Division, which during the day penetrated deep into Naha west of the north-south canal that bisects the city. Only an occasional Japanese straggler was met; sniper fire was almost nonexistent. A few Okinawan civilians who were still hiding in the rubble of the city said they had seen only scattered 5 or 6-man Japanese patrols during the past week. The rubble of Naha was deserted. The Reconnaissance Company dug in without packs and gear to hold the gain so easily obtained. Naha had no tactical value other than to afford the Americans a route of travel southward to the next objective. The city was located in a wide coastal flat at the mouth of the Kokuba River; it was dominated by the high ground of the Oroku Peninsula across the channel to the south, and by a ridge that curved around the city and coastal flat from the northeast to southwest along the Kokuba estuary. On 27 May 1 company of the 2d Battalion, 22d Marines, crossed the Asato, passed through the lines of the Reconnaissance Company, and pressed deeper into the western part of Naha. The next morning at daylight the marines moved on toward the Kokuba estuary; reaching it at 0900, they received hardly a shot as they picked their way among the demolished buildings and the heaps of debris. The effort of a platoon to press forward to scout the situation at the approaches to Ona-Yama Island, which lies in the middle of the Kokuba Channel opposite the south end of the Naha Canal, failed. The marines were met by heavy machine-gun fire, and in their withdrawal the platoon leader was killed. All of Naha west of the canal and north of Kokuba was now in possession of the marines. Steps were taken quickly to defend this portion of the city. 8 37-mm. antitank guns were ranged along the sea wall bordering the north bank of the Kokuba estuary, and a line of marines took up positions behind the sea wall. The 1st Armored Amphibious Battalion held and patrolled the seaward side of the city. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2153.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.16 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 2896 x 2336 |
| Photographer | David D. Duncan |
| Photographer Title | United States Marine Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 1, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Okinawa |
| Country | Ryukyus |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-127-GR-106(121116) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database