If you ever doubted the power of major motion films then this blog may have you second-guessing yourself. According to news reports, Japan has decided to change the name of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, site of the famous World War II battle, to its original name of Iwo To. Not because it would lend authenticity to the island, but because Japanese residents were prodded into action by two recent Clint Eastwood movies.
According to the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute, the new name in Japanese looks and means the same as Iwo Jima – or Sulfur Island – but sounds different. For those of you who were sleeping during history class, Iwo Jima was the site of the World War II battle immortalized by the famous photograph of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on the islet’s Mount Suribachi.
Prior to the war the 1,000 or so civilians who lived there knew the volcanic island as Iwo To. In 1944 all the island’s residents were evacuated as U.S. forces advanced across the Pacific. According to reports, the Japanese navy officers who moved in to fortify the island mistakenly called it Iwo Jima, and the name stuck. After the war, the residents weren’t allowed to return and both the U.S. and Japan put the island to use for military purposes. Today the only inhabitants are about 400 Japanese soldiers. Though the U.S. Navy still uses an Iwo To airstrip to train pilots who operate from aircraft carriers.
So how does this involve the movies? According to Japanese military leaders, the release of Eastwood’s two films “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “Flags of Our Fathers,” which spotlighted the misnomer inspired descendants of Iwo To evacuees to petition the central government to change the island’s name.
“Though we’re happy for Iwo To, which has been forgotten by history, the islanders are extremely grieved every time they hear Iwo To referred to as Iwo Jima,” reports a local Japanese newspaper covering the name change.
The Japanese Geographical Survey Institute discussed the name change with Japan’s coast guard before it became official. An updated map with the new name will be released in September.
All thanks to a couple of movies…
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