https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7 Tomiko Higa en-us 2023-04-01 03:42:39 UTC 2025-10-16 16:33:20 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f3f3.png mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2540463492 Higa, Tomiko. The Girl with the White Flag: A Spellbinding Account of Love and Courage in Wartime Okinawa. Kodansha USA, 2013. ]]> 2023-04-01 03:58:22 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2540463492 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541777183 Tomiko was born in Shuri, which nowadays is apart of Naha. She was the last of the nine children born to Chokusho and Kame Matsukawa, they were hereditary samurai who was in the service of Ryukyuan kings. 

"I was the last of nine children born to Chokusho and Kame Matsukawa." Page 13]]> 2023-04-03 05:27:44 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541777183 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541786633 3 months before her sixth birthday, her mother passed away. There already has been war going on with the British and American forces in the Western Pacific for 2 years. For now, they had no worries of it reaching Okinawa. Tomikos mother was very important to her, and they were close with each other. Her mothers death was sudden, and with the conditions of Okinawa it was difficult for her to get a word with her siblings; her sisters married and her brothers, one serving in the army and one working on mainland. 


"My mother's death was sudden, and the conditions in Okinawa at the time made it difficult to get word to them. Even if we had been able to do so, wartime conditions would have prevented them from getting home quickly." page 17-18]]> 2023-04-03 05:36:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541786633 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541796021 Towards the end of March 1945, their Father came back home and was in distress. Their Father is normally calm, so Tomiko had a suspicion something must've happened. He called everyone together, including siblings. Their father told them that Okinawa won't be a peaceful place anymore, as the war is going to come here.

" 'Now I want you all to listen carefully. There;s going to be fighting here in Okinawa very soon.' " Page 36]]> 2023-04-03 05:45:16 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541796021 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541821957 American soilders landed on Okinawa on the morning of April 1, 1945. The war has now finally come onto Okinawa, and months later there had been bombs falling around their house. They had to go and take cover, but the shelters were weak if they got hit by a bomb. Though, the soft earth is able to prevent the bombs from going off. 

"Every day the air raids and the shelling came closer and grew more violent." Page 42]]> 2023-04-03 06:05:35 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541821957 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541830895 Her sister is taking them to the South, and requested them to gather some things together. They got everything and left their house they had many memories in. They only walked at night, and the enemy land and air offensive was too much so they had to take cover in shelters. Even when it was night they couldn't walk very far with the flares and explosive shells. They had asked people at a house if they could spend the night and they refused so they had to sleep inside a cave. ]]> 2023-04-03 06:13:39 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541830895 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541838618 While writing this book in 1987, Tomiko asked her sister where this all took place, yet she refused to talk about it. Tomiko brought up a memory and thanked her sister, in which she revealed it was Makabe. This all finally made sense to Tomiko, as her siblings believed if they had went there they could've had the chance to find him. 

"Makabe was where the people at the signal corps unit had told Yoshiko that Father had gone to collect livestock." Page 47]]> 2023-04-03 06:21:15 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541838618 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541842324 A day or two after they left Makabe, Tomiko encountered a horrible scene that was nightmarish. She and her siblings found a woman laying dead after being hit by a bomb, with a newborn sucking on her blood. They had nothing they could do to help the child and had to turn and move forward to the South as the fighting has been getting closer and closer and they had no choice but to move on.]]> 2023-04-03 06:25:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541842324 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541847237 Tomiko and her siblings were woken up by soldiers who were urging them to move as the fighting will be coming this way. Tomiko had tried to wake up Nini, but he wasn't waking up. She assumed he was fast asleep, but he had his eyes wide open. Tomiko yelled to her siblings that Nini wasn't waking up, in which they rushed over to him. Yoshiko removed the cloth and saw that his head had a hole in it and there was blood on the back of his head. The three stood silent for a long time, before they wept at the death of their brother. Tomiko couldn't understand death at the time, and was confused.

"Nini's just asleep,' I said, 'with his eyes open.' And besides, his body had felt warm against mine when I woke. It was explained to me later that a stray bullet had gone through Nini's head and he probably died instantly." Page 50]]> 2023-04-03 06:30:20 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541847237 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541924228 Tomiko had realized she had been holding the garment of a women who she did not know, instead of her sisters. She let go, and started to go and find her sisters but she couldn't see any of them. She thought she'd find them soon, so she spent the night sleeping as she was too tired to go and continue the search. She had no one with her, no clothes and no food. She couldn't wait for night, so she left the cave and went out calling for her sisters. She was walking around for a long time around dead bodies. One of the soldiers who she thought was dead reached out and asked how the war was doing. Tomiko responded with i think Japan is winning. 


]]> 2023-04-03 07:48:45 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541924228 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541930154 While Tomiko was wandering around, she found a dead soldier and approached him. She was no longer afraid to approach dead soldiers, and looked around where she saw a sack. She found some sugar drops inside, and held them to her hand to pray and ask if she could eat them. She then takes one to her mouth, and feels energized once again. She now makes sure to check that the soldiers are dead before searching for any food.

"Then I put one of the sugar drops in my mouth, and bit it. It was lovely and crunchy, and filled my mouth with sweetness. " page 60]]> 2023-04-03 07:54:19 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541930154 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541935028 After Tomiko found a rat holding a sweet potato, she had hope there must be some crops nearby and went off to look for food. Though it seemed nowhere Tomiko went, she could find something remotely resembling a field of vegetables. It started to rain and she decided to go and find another cave. She found a hole instead, and slide into it, but landed on something. It was a white rabbit. She decided to name it Nini, after her brother. She stayed in the hole with the rabbit, eating grass as there was no other food she could find. ]]> 2023-04-03 07:59:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541935028 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541939445 Tomiko has started to go around and look for her sisters again. She's realized that if there are no animals near, that means a bomb was about to drop. So Tomiko made sure to only look around in places with animals around. She would set out cave from cave, yelling her sisters names. During some point, people that were hidden in caves made her out as an enemy target. She became known as a bad urchin. She was unable to even look inside the caves, and made herself well known. Then, a soldier popped up and told her he will kill her. Tomiko began to ran for her life, she was then driven to the edge of a clip. Eventually the rock tumbled off the cliff, and she lost consciousness. 

"Just as the sword was about to cut me down, the rock underneath me broke off." Page 74]]> 2023-04-03 08:05:31 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541939445 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541948656 When Tomiko regained consciousness, she felt as if she was floating. When she looked what was poking her stomach, it was a tree. She was hanging face up caught on a tree. Tomiko was saved by the only tree that was growing in the area. She had thought it must be a sign that she was meant to go on living. Now, all she has to do was get down which was a long way. She twisted her body around and eventually fell down the tree. It resulted in some injuries, but she was now able to escape the soldier. ]]> 2023-04-03 08:17:04 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541948656 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541949449 2023-04-03 08:18:10 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541949449 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541966914 5 weeks have passed since Tomiko had left her home in Shuri, and she was beginning to lose hope. She had no traces of her sisters left, and she has went 3 days without any proper food. She had felt miserable, and didn't want to go on living. Only 7 years old at the time, she decided she will just peacefully die in her sleep. She went on walking where she spotted a leaf, called nigana, that was growing on a nearby rock. She took a bite of the leaf, which was too bitter, but out of hunger she finished it. Even though she was intending to die, she went off to search for some water. ]]> 2023-04-03 08:38:50 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541966914 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541970798 In search for water, she found a hole with a delicious aroma surrounding it. She decided to take the risk and jump in, feet first. While walking in, she found an old man watching her. She was scared and didn't know what to do first, but the old man gently offered for her to come near. Another old lady appeared by, and offered her to sit down. She noticed the mans limbs were amputated while staring at him, and it appeared the old woman was blind. She told the both of them what happened and how she ended up here. They both offered her to stay here, and allowed her to eat some food. 

" ' There's some food on the shelf. You can help yourself. But don't eat too much at once. The war may go on a long time. And don't talk too loud, because a spy might find out about us and throw a bomb in here.' " page 88]]> 2023-04-03 08:43:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541970798 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541976409 As Tomiko stayed with the grandpa and grandma, she was able to help around. She helped grandpa with his sores, picking off maggots who would try and bite on them. Also rubbing salt on his wounds, to make sure they heal and helping him eat. He was very grateful to Tomiko, and so was the grandma. She would make sure to help her as well, when she needed help with drinking water as she was blind. ]]> 2023-04-03 08:50:29 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541976409 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541989803 Tomiko felt happy in this cave with this old couple. She told them that she wants to stay with them forever until they die, she wants to all die together. They both started to cry, listening to Tomiko. The old man told her that she has to take care of her life, and she will have to move on when it's time for them to die. Tomiko couldn't accept that, and begun to beg for them to let her die with them, but the old man didn't budge and told her to swear to stay alive as long as possible. Tomiko knew she was going to have to leave the cave one day.]]> 2023-04-03 09:05:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541989803 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541996240 Tomiko went off to play with her pebbles, when she heard the old couple whispering to each other. She went to listen in and heard them discussing about a white t-shirt. They wanted to rip it and make it into a white triangle. During this, she was hearing an announcement outside in weird Japanese she's never heard before. It was telling people to get out of the caves as they will be bombed and that the war is over, no civilians will be killed. She was then asked to go get a stick, and the old couple tied the triangle onto the stick. They then asked Tomiko to go out and hold it up. ]]> 2023-04-03 09:12:34 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2541996240 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542002182 Tomiko left the cave with the white flag on hand. She made sure she was a safe distance away from the cave before she brought it up. She started to walk along with the other soldiers. When she spotted an American soldier, she was frightened, thinking she will die now. He was holding a camera, in which Tomiko thought to be a secret weapon that would be used on her. Instead, nothing happened to her and she was able to reach the end and see the blue ocean. Finally she was free from war, and she wished the old couple could see this as well.  

"I finally came to a place where I could see the ocean. 'I'm alive!' I wanted to shout at the top of my voice." Page 111]]> 2023-04-03 09:20:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542002182 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542005463 Tomiko was still on guard, even if she knew she wouldn't be shot. A soldier came up to her and tried to take the flag away, telling her it won't be needed anymore. He asked for her name and address, in which she told him as her father in the past directed her too. The soldier then took her away to a group of people, where she heard her name being called. When she looked up she saw both of her sister's waving at her. They all joined in for a hug, and reassuring they were all okay. Tomiko thanked the grandpa and grandma from across the cave for giving her her life. ]]> 2023-04-03 09:24:24 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542005463 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542009102 2023-04-03 09:29:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542009102 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542009736 2023-04-03 09:30:01 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542009736 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542010593 2023-04-03 09:31:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542010593 mardaphy000 https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542011255 2023-04-03 09:32:09 UTC https://padlet.com/mardaphy000/af24ieu66650q9l7/wish/2542011255