Fumiko Nakamura

Fumiko Nakamura (, July 1913 – 27 June 2013) was a Japanese teacher and peace activist. Born and raised on Okinawa, she attended normal school and became a teacher in 1933. Before World War II, she taught students and led the Girls' Youth Organization that it was honorable to die for their country. After her marriage, she relocated in 1941 to Kawasaki, Kanagawa, where she continued to teach until the effects of the war made working impossible. After experiencing the horrors of war, she regretted her participation in indoctrinating young people to favor war. In 1946, her family returned to Okinawa and she resumed teaching elementary school until 1974.

Upon her return to Okinawa, Nakamura began protesting the continued military presence and United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands. Even after 1972, when sovereignty of the island was returned to Japan, she continued anti-war and anti-military demonstrations. For a decade after her retirement, she served as the vice president of the Okinawa Women's Association. In 1983 at a women's conference, she learned of the Okinawan Historical Film Society's efforts to break the silence about talking about the bombing of Okinawa. She became director of the society in 1986 and the secretary general of the (One-Foot Movement Association), an organization aimed at buying US film footage taken during the war. The One-Foot Movement made two films about the Okinawa bombing and Nakamura toured world-wide presenting the film and advocating for peace. She remained active as a pacifist until her death in 2013. Provided by Wikipedia