News in Easy English: Film tells true story of Japanese soldiers who hid in tree after war ended

The Mainichi

26-06-2025

FUKUOKA -- A new film tells the true story of two Japanese soldiers in World War II. The soldiers lived for two years on top of a very big tree during the war in Okinawa. They didn't know the war had already ended. The film is now showing in Okinawa and will come to other parts of Japan from July 25.
One soldier was Shujun Sashida. In April 1945, near the end of the war, U.S. soldiers landed on the small island of Iejima in Okinawa. Sashida hurt his leg. He and another soldier named Shizuo Yamaguchi hid from the soldiers high up in a large tree.
At night, they climbed down from the tree to find food, clothes, and water. They talked often about their hometowns and families. They thought they might be the last ones alive.
Almost two years later, in 1947, the two soldiers learned the war had ended. They climbed down and met surprised local people. One local said, "You look fat! What did you eat there?"
Later, Sashida went home to Uruma in Okinawa. His family grew food and worked hard after the war. He had two children before the war, then three more after he came home.
Film director Kazuhiro Taira made their story into a movie. Sashida's son Mitsuru said, "I was born because my father returned home."
Mitsuru, now 77, is happy about the film about his father's story. He said, "It is really amazing that they lived and came home safe."
(Japanese original by Maika Hyuga, Kyushu News Department)
Vocabulary
soldier: a person who fights in a war
hometown: the town or place where you were born or grew up
local: a person living in the area
director: a person who makes a movie
film: another word for movie
amazing: very surprising and wonderful