From Poison Gas Secrets to Fluffy Isle of Cuteness — Japan’s Okunoshima
One of the top destinations for animal lovers in Japan is to visit the small island of Okunoshima in Hiroshima prefecture which is populated by around 1,000 rabbits.
Rabbits are not native to the island– so, how did they get there?
There are a few theories about where the rabbits came from, some say the rabbits are escaped test subjects from the poison-gas manufacturing on the island during the war. Others say school-kids release them here after the war.
According to GetHiroshima, the most likely scenario is after deer and monkeys were proposed, rabbits were chosen as the tourism appeal animal of choice and released onto the island. It seems the rabbit release was an effort to create new tourism appeal– a new destination narrative was born.
There may be some debate about where the first rabbits came from, but what is certain is that, with a current population of between 700 and 900, the bunnies of Okunoshima have put the once top secret island on the world map. GetHiroshima’s Paul Walsh
History of Poison-Gas Making
In 2020, I talked with German documentary filmmaker Fritz Schumann about his film, Okunoshima, about the poison gas history of the island. Schumann spent 6 years in Japan researching the poison-gas story and included clips from the many interviews he did with locals. The interviews with people who had experienced working in the poison gas factory as children, used the gas as soldiers, or whose children had been poisoned by the gas as it was leaked into the water supply in Japan. This powerful film was presented at the 2019 Hiroshima Film Festival.
Schumann’s film features local activists like Reiko Okada who held regular seminars with locals and visitors to the island in order to share their testimony of making poison gas filled balloons as a child, and the horror and guilt she felt learning later that the balloons she had helped make had killed people in China and the US.
According to the Mainichi news, over 5,000 people were working on the island at its peak and all locals were sworn to secrecy. Locals reported that even the shades on the trains passing by were mandated to be drawn as it passed the island, and Okunoshima was referred to as “the island erased from the map”.
From 1929 to 1945, Okunoshima was a location for producing poison gas for use in World War II. It was erased from the map as a national secret of Japan’s major chemical weapons production base. Historical sites related to the production of poison gas still remain on Okunoshima today and continue to tell the horrors of war. Hiroshima for Global Peace Website.
Okada-san’s books which retell her experiences are on display in the poison gas museum on the island.
“When talking about Hiroshima, the damage from the A-bomb tends to be emphasized, but we also were accomplices to the war. I want people to know that war makes regular people both victims and perpetrators of violence, and I want to continue to tell my story so that peace will continue” Reiko Okada as quoted by Mainichi news.
Double-Narrative as a Tourism Destination
At my last visit, most of the information in the museum was only available in Japanese, but the information signboards outside of the red brick storage facilities and derelict factory buildings around the island where the poison gas was being made and processed had both English and Japanese information on the signboards.
There is still misinformation today as Schumann points out in doing research for his documentary he found many disparities.
The official website for the island it says poison gas was made there, but it says it only made 6 tons when actually 9,000 tons were made there. Fritz Schumann
According to Schumann, 97% of foreign visitors go to Okunoshima to see the rabbits and don’t know anything about the history of poison gas on the island. Although some people might be shocked that such a historical site could be rebranded to appeal to travelers, I don’t see the double narrative as a bad thing.
For visitors, there are many opportunities to both interact with the bunnies, enjoy walks and island views, but also learn more about the dark wartime history while there. It may appeal to visitors who would never otherwise visit a historical site like the Hiroshima memorial peace park. I hope visitors will take both narratives in on a visit to rabbit island.
On a recent livestream for Travel Tuesday introducing the Okunoshima island destination, Molly from the US commented that it is certainly an interesting double-narrative as a travel destination, and seeing the ruins of the old storage facilities and factories is eerie. She was also wondering about the health of the rabbits and whether they are spayed or neutered. These are common concerns of the many animal loving visitors to the island.
On the official rabbit island website, the rule to avoid picking up the rabbits, or taking them home, or even leaving your own pet rabbit here, was likely created because visitors have actually been doing that. So, wouldn’t it be nice to see more detailed information about who takes care of the rabbits and how it is done? These details may be kept secret to protect local volunteers from judgement or responsibility, but if I find out more I will share details and links to the information.
I think many of us who know the double-narrative of tourism destinations are conflicted about how to promote the island of Okunoshima to visitors, but the fact that the history of the island is clear for anyone who is curious is a good thing.
Any visitor or resident to Hiroshima who spends time here has multiple narratives of its wartime past in combination with great local foods, natural views of the mountains, islands, animals, nature, traditions, culture and friendly locals. It is a complexity which is often an essence of its charm.
Come to Okunoshima to see the bunnies as well as learn about its history, a wider experience that reflects the complexities of war, peace, and how it intersects with travel.
