After the Filipino Heroes Memorial, we stopped at the Japanese Memorial Garden. Here, there were several dedicated tablets and statues that described the loss and commemorated the dead.
My first stop was a small tablet that had a brief historical/memorial blurb about the fight at Corregidor. Then, I went to a Shinto shrine, with an incense bowl and a wooden stake with Japanese characters. Not far from there was a cemetery, with a central granite lotus, and lily pads with the names of the fallen. There were also several anti-aircraft guns painted over to prevent rusting. Also at the Japanese Memorial Garden was a large statue of the ancient Japanese goddess of hope, with dedicated plaques and tablets. There was also an old Japanese flag written on by Japanese suicide soldiers.
Being there, I felt the gravity of the location, and its historical significance started to weigh on my shoulders. Being able to walk where soldiers from 70 years ago walked was like nothing I've felt before. Because there were no velvet ropes and no "Please Don't Walk on the Grass" signs, I got to touch these historically charged items, and I think that being able to touch these things really helped them connect and hit home.
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