Iwo Jima? Nope, sorry, doesn't exist. Never has...
Folks,
Not exactly sure what to make of this one.
Japan changes name of Iwo Jima
By HANS GREIMEL, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - Japan has returned to using the prewar name for the island of Iwo Jima - site of one of World War II's most horrific battles - at the urging of its original inhabitants, who want to reclaim an identity they say has been hijacked by high-profile movies like Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima."
....
Before the war, the isolated spit of land was called Iwo To - pronounced "ee-woh-toh" - by the 1,000 or so people who lived there. In Japanese, that name looks and means the same as Iwo Jima - Sulfur Island - but it has a different sound.
The civilians were evacuated in 1944 as U.S. forces advanced across the Pacific. Some Japanese navy officers who moved in to fortify the island mistakenly called it Iwo Jima, and the name stuck. After the war, civilians weren't allowed to return and the island was put to exclusive military use by both the U.S. and Japan, cementing its identity."
(Follow linked URL for full article)
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On the one hand, this could just be an attempt to correct a longstanding factual error. It could also be yet another attempt by the Japanese to "bury" their past. I dunno.
I can appreciate the desire for accuracy but it seems rather late in the game to insist on this sort of name change. I would also think that there was enough blood spilled - by both sides - on the island known as Iwo Jima to merit keeping it named that way.
Anyway, yet another bit of "this modern world" stuff to contemplate here.
Madoc
Not exactly sure what to make of this one.
Japan changes name of Iwo Jima
By HANS GREIMEL, Associated Press Writer
TOKYO - Japan has returned to using the prewar name for the island of Iwo Jima - site of one of World War II's most horrific battles - at the urging of its original inhabitants, who want to reclaim an identity they say has been hijacked by high-profile movies like Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima."
....
Before the war, the isolated spit of land was called Iwo To - pronounced "ee-woh-toh" - by the 1,000 or so people who lived there. In Japanese, that name looks and means the same as Iwo Jima - Sulfur Island - but it has a different sound.
The civilians were evacuated in 1944 as U.S. forces advanced across the Pacific. Some Japanese navy officers who moved in to fortify the island mistakenly called it Iwo Jima, and the name stuck. After the war, civilians weren't allowed to return and the island was put to exclusive military use by both the U.S. and Japan, cementing its identity."
(Follow linked URL for full article)
####
On the one hand, this could just be an attempt to correct a longstanding factual error. It could also be yet another attempt by the Japanese to "bury" their past. I dunno.
I can appreciate the desire for accuracy but it seems rather late in the game to insist on this sort of name change. I would also think that there was enough blood spilled - by both sides - on the island known as Iwo Jima to merit keeping it named that way.
Anyway, yet another bit of "this modern world" stuff to contemplate here.
Madoc