Shirahata no Shoujo Ryuuko

Synopsis

In 1945, American forces land on Okinawa. While the Japanese wage guerrilla warfare against the invaders, Ryuko is compelled to abandon her grandparents and flee with her mother and younger sister, both of whom die during their escape. Ryuko endures the brutal journey alone through the devastated landscape. Later she seeks refuge in caves where Japanese soldiers are hiding, witnessing them kill themselves with grenades. This story is based on a children's book by Akira Aratagawa and Hikuji Norima, itself drawn from an actual American film of an Okinawan girl, Tomiko Higa, waving a white flag when the island surrenders.