Voices of the Stones
~Born of an act of expression~
Writing numbers on stones, in silence,
More than two hundred thousand times.
Each expressive act, like a prayer.
The Art Department at Kaino High School announced the project,
“Voices of Stones,” in June, 1996. On June 15th and 16th,
participants were to write numbers on 236,095 stones
and place them in the open space outside the Sakima Art Museum,
adjacent to the U.S. Futenma Base in Okinawa.
This number represents the number of people known in 1996
to have died in the Battle of Okinawa.
But after two days, only half the stones were finished.
The project was continued on June 22nd and 23rd.
A total of 600 people participated.
The final day, June 23rd, was “Memorial Day,”
(the 51st) anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa.
At noon, participants offered sticks of incense and silent prayers.
This is the story of “Voices of Stones.”
Text&Photos:Kinjo Mitsuru
Translation:Rebecca Jennison
（time：15minutes）
Japanese
