Kiku Nakayama, a representative of Shiraume Alumni Association, which cares for the Shiraume Monument in Itoman City, discovered on Apr. 7 that a pair of Jizo statues have gone missing from the monument.

Itoman Police that were called to investigate, have been looking for the missing Jizo around the area, but have not been able to find a trace of them yet. Police suspect somebody stole the two Jizo.

The Siraume Monument was built as a memorial of the Shiraume Student Corps and teachers who perished during the Battle of Okinawa at the end of the World War II. The two Jizo had stood on both sides of the monument, and police say it looks like they were ripped off from their stands. Nakayama said “I don’t know when exactly the jizo were stolen, but I recall they were here when I came to clean the monument Mar. 4.”

The two jizo are presents from the mainland Japan commemorating the sacrifice of the Shiraume Corps. “They were really cute shaped and make people feel at peace. I really hope they will be returned back,” Nakayama says.

Police finally found the two statues in bushes some 15 meters away from the monument.

• 
• NO DATA