title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Ziminski fired a shot into the air, and was later charged with disorderly conduct using a dangerous weapon. After the shot was fired, Rittenhouse turned around, to see Rosenbaum now only a few feet away from him. According to McGinniss, who was standing near Rittenhouse at the time, Rosenbaum then shouted "fuck you!" and "lunged" at Rittenhouse and grabbed the barrel of his rifle. Rittenhouse then fired four shots at Rosenbaum, killing him. The bullets perforated Rosenbaum's heart, aorta, pulmonary artery and right lung, fractured his pelvis, and caused minor wounds to his left thigh and forehead.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: McGinniss, who had been standing fifteen feet away and felt one of the bullets whiz by his leg, checked himself before he began to administer first aid to Rosenbaum and told Rittenhouse to call 911. Rittenhouse stood over McGinniss for half of a minute before fleeing, and was heard saying "I just killed somebody" on his cell phone to his friend Dominick Black as he sprinted out of the parking lot where he had shot Rosenbaum. Rittenhouse then ran down the street towards police vehicles pursued by protesters.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Gaige Grosskreutz testified that he was filming the protest as a legal observer for the American Civil Liberties Union on a Facebook livestream. Shortly before midnight Grosskreutz said he heard gunshots to the south and observed Rittenhouse running in his direction on Sheridan Road. Grosskreutz said he ran alongside Rittenhouse and asked "Hey, what are you doing? You shot somebody?"


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Prosecutors said that protesters were heard on two different videos yelling "Beat him up!", "Hey, he shot him!" and "Get him! Get that dude!" One individual struck Rittenhouse, knocking off his cap, shortly after which Rittenhouse tripped and fell to the ground. Others shouted "What'd he do?", "Just shot someone!" and "Get his ass!" While Rittenhouse was on the ground, Maurice Freeland, one of the men in pursuit, jump kicked Rittenhouse, who fired twice but missed Freeland.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Another protester, Anthony Huber, struck Rittenhouse's left shoulder, neck and head with a skateboard as the pair struggled for control of the gun. As Huber was pulling on the rifle, Rittenhouse fired once, hitting Huber in the chest, perforating his heart and right lung, causing his rapid death.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Grosskreutz testified he believed Rittenhouse was an active shooter. Grosskreutz testified that he had an expired concealed carry permit for a handgun and was carrying a Glock pistol. Grosskreutz approached Rittenhouse, who was on the ground, but stopped and put his hands up after Huber was shot. Grosskreutz then pointed his handgun and advanced on Rittenhouse, who shot Grosskreutz once in the arm, severing most of the biceps of his right arm.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: At least 16 gunshots from other sources were heard on video during the time that Rittenhouse was on the ground.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Rittenhouse got back to his feet and walked towards police with his hands up and the rifle strapped across his chest. Several police officers testified during the trial that they were responding to an active shooter incident and did not recognize that Rittenhouse was the shooter. He was repeatedly told to get out of the road, and when he continued to advance, one officer attempted to pepper-spray him. Several witnesses and protesters had shouted for Rittenhouse to be arrested. When asked at a press conference why Rittenhouse was not stopped, Kenosha Sheriff David Beth said, "In situations that are high-stress, you have such incredible tunnel vision" and implied officers may not have realized he had been involved in the shooting. Likewise, Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said that "there was nothing to suggest this individual was involved in any criminal behavior" due to the fact that someone walking towards the police with their hands up was "no longer abnormal" in the wake of the protests.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Video clips from Kenosha immediately went viral after the shooting. Facebook, criticized for allowing militia groups to post solicitations for armed attendees and for failing to respond to several hundred complaints, removed the Kenosha Guard's post and classified the event as a mass shooting. On August 29, the legal team for Rittenhouse released a statement asserting that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense and was wrongly arrested. President Donald Trump visited Kenosha on September 1. On September 22, Rittenhouse's defense team released an 11-minute narrated video of the night, consisting of quick cuts between various angles. The video contended that several shots were fired before and after the shooting of Rosenbaum, and that Rosenbaum may have started chasing Rittenhouse because he mistook him for a man with whom he had a dispute earlier.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Rittenhouse turned himself in to police in his home town of Antioch, Illinois about an hour after the shootings in Kenosha and was held in a juvenile facility in Illinois until he was extradited to Wisconsin on October 30, 2020. He was released from detention on November 20, after posting $2 million bail.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On January 22, 2021, the conditions of Rittenhouse's release were changed so that he could not consume alcohol, have access to firearms, or associate with persons or groups known to be a threat to others based on race or religion. These changes were made after Rittenhouse was seen on January 5 at a bar with his mother in Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, drinking beers and posing for pictures alongside five men who sang "Proud of Your Boy", a song used by members of the far-right Proud Boys political organization. In one photo with two of them, Rittenhouse flashed an "OK" sign, a hand gesture that some have associated with white supremacists. It has been reported that in 2017 the gesture was falsely linked on a blogging website with the letters "WP," for "White Power".


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On February 11, judge Bruce Schroeder denied a request by prosecutors for a $200,000 increase in Rittenhouse's bond, after Rittenhouse failed to file an address change within 48 hours of moving, stating that people out on bail often fail to update their address. Rittenhouse's attorney said that Rittenhouse had been staying at an undisclosed address out of concern for his safety.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Rittenhouse's trial began on November 1, 2021, and concluded on November 19 in the Kenosha County Circuit Court. Rittenhouse was represented by attorneys Mark Richards, Corey Chirafisi, and Natalie Wisco; the State was represented by ADAs Thomas Binger and James Kraus. The presiding judge was Bruce E. Schroeder. Jury selection on November 1 resulted in a 20-person panel of 12 jurors and eight alternates. The jury heard testimony from over 30 witnesses and viewed more than a dozen videos taken on the night of the shooting. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Rittenhouse was seen as an active shooter and had provoked the other participants while defense lawyers argued the affirmative defense of self-defense on the grounds that Rittenhouse had been chased and attacked.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Each felony charge's maximum imprisonment included a "use of a dangerous weapon" modifier, which invokes a Wisconsin law that prescribes an addition of no more than five years of imprisonment. The rifle used in the shootings was identified as a Smith & Wesson M&P15 chambered in .223 Dominick Black had allegedly purchased it on May 1 with cash from Rittenhouse, and had given it to Rittenhouse hours before the shootings.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: At a hearing on September 17, 2021, Schroeder denied prosecutors' requests to admit Rittenhouse's meeting with Proud Boys members and a previous fight that he was involved in as evidence in the case, finding that the incidents were "too dissimilar" to the shooting. Schroeder also denied the defense's request to admit evidence of Rosenbaum's prior criminal record as a sex offender. On October 25, Schroeder defined what testimony would or would not be admissible by both the defense and the prosecution. Schroeder ordered that the men shot by Rittenhouse could not be referred to as victims, but determined they could be described as arsonists or looters if the defense was able to establish evidence that Rosenbaum, Huber, or Grosskreutz were engaged in those activities that night. Legal experts stated that saying the term "victim" can appear prejudicial in a court of law, which would heavily influence a jury by presupposing who is innocent and guilty.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Trial arguments and testimonies took place between November 2 and 15, 2021, in Kenosha County Courthouse. After opening arguments, jurors were shown multiple video recordings of the events. Video footage recorded shortly before the shooting showed Rosenbaum shouting "Shoot me, nigga!" at an armed man who pointed a gun at him. Two witnesses testified having seen Rosenbaum yelling and behaving violently before approaching Rittenhouse and trying to take his rifle. A former marine testified that Rosenbaum had taunted him and other armed men before the shootings but said he did not consider Rosenbaum a threat. A witness who had spoken with Rittenhouse after the shooting recalled a nervous, pale, and sweating Rittenhouse as repeatedly saying "I just shot someone." The prosecution questioned why Rittenhouse would feel threatened while holding a rifle, and described him as an armed threat.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On November 8, Grosskreutz, an armed paramedic, testified that he "thought the defendant was active shooter" and said "I thought I was going to die." Grosskreutz, whom videos show putting his hands in the air when standing a few feet from Rittenhouse, testified that he then saw Rittenhouse re-rack his rifle, which the video evidence contradicts. Grosskreutz said that "meant that the defendant pulled the trigger while my hands were in the air, but the gun didn't fire, so by reracking the weapon I inferred the defendant wasn't accepting my surrender." Grosskreutz testified that he decided to "close the distance" to Rittenhouse, to employ "non-lethal" methods of either wrestling the gun away from or detaining Rittenhouse. He further testified that he sought to preserve his own life but was "never trying to kill" Rittenhouse, and that as he moved closer to Rittenhouse, unintentionally pointing his handgun at him, Rittenhouse shot him.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On November 10, prosecution witness Ryan Balch, a military veteran who also carried an AR-style rifle that night, recalled Rosenbaum shouting "If I catch any of you guys alone tonight I'm going to fucking kill you!" Rittenhouse took the stand and testified that Rosenbaum threatened to kill him twice and ambushed him before the fatal shooting. Rittenhouse broke down on recounting those events, and the judge ordered a recess. Afterward, Rittenhouse said that Rosenbaum charged at him, putting his hand on Rittenhouse's gun barrel. In cross-examination, Rittenhouse acknowledged using deadly force to stop the attack on him, while also saying that killing was not his intent.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Judge Schroeder ruled on November 12 that the jury could consider whether or not Rittenhouse provoked the attacks that unfolded.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: The defense made several requests for a mistrial that included a motion for a mistrial with prejudice using the argument that there was "prosecutorial overreaching" and that the state acted "in bad faith". The defense later requested a mistrial without prejudice due to a dispute over drone video used in the trial. Defense attorneys stated that the version provided to them by the prosecution was in a lower resolution and different aspect ratio than the version presented by the state, in violation of rules of evidence and the right of defendants to confront their accuser.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: The judge, who sparred with prosecutor Thomas Binger on several occasions, had accused Binger of a violation of the right to silence guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment after Binger alleged Rittenhouse deliberately refrained from commenting on the case in order to fit his testimony in response to witnesses' accounts once at trial. The defense also requested a mistrial over Binger's mention of video footage showing Rittenhouse expressing a willingness to shoot suspected shoplifters. This angered Schroeder, who had ruled the material was neither related nor allowed at trial.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On November 18, Schroeder banned MSNBC and affiliates from the courthouse for the remainder of the trial after Kenosha police observed that a car driven by an MSNBC producer had followed the jury bus and run a red light. The driver, detained on suspicion of photographing jurors, was issued traffic citations and released by police after they failed to find pictures of jurors. NBC News denied their affiliated driver had intended to photograph or contact jurors during deliberations.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: After the prosecution rested its case, the judge dismissed a charge of curfew violation against Rittenhouse, citing a lack of evidence offered by the prosecution; the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm was also dismissed, based on the defense argument that the Wisconsin law restricts minors from carrying rifles only if they are short-barreled. The barrel of Rittenhouse's rifle was longer than 16 inches, the shortest barrel length allowed for minors under state law.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: The jury reached a unanimous verdict on all other charges after more than 25 hours of deliberations spanning four days, finding Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Black was charged with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor, resulting in death, for supplying Rittenhouse with the rifle used to kill Rosenbaum and Huber. Bond was set at $2500. Black pleaded not guilty to the charges. In January 2022, as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop the two felony charges, Black pleaded no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Ziminski was charged with disorderly conduct-use of a dangerous weapon, obstructing an officer, and arson of property other than a building during the Kenosha unrest. He allegedly fired a shot in the air before Rittenhouse killed Rosenbaum. Ziminski pleaded not guilty to the charges His trial, scheduled for January 2022, was postponed after he allegedly threatened a witness. In September 2022, while out on bail, Ziminski and his wife Kelly were both charged with several felonies for allegedly attempting to rob a Kenosha man at knifepoint in August.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: A lawsuit was filed in September 2020 by plaintiffs including the partner of Anthony Huber, seeking damages from Rittenhouse, Facebook, the far-right group Boogaloo Bois, and the Kenosha Guard militia and its commander. The suit alleged negligence on the part of Facebook in allowing the Kenosha Guard to call for militia members on its platform and alleged that the defendants had participated in a conspiracy to violate their civil rights. The suit was withdrawn by the plaintiffs without comment and dismissed with prejudice in the last week of January 2021.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On January 4, 2021, Huber's parents and Gaige Grosskreutz each filed $10 million claim notices, against both the city and county, alleging negligence due to inaction in protecting their rights.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On August 17, 2021, Huber's parents filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Kenosha Police Department and Kenosha County Sheriff's Department, claiming that law enforcement allowed Rittenhouse to harm people peacefully protesting against the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Huber's parents amended their lawsuit in January 2022 to add Rittenhouse as a named defendant.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Grosskreutz filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Wisconsin on October 14, 2021, alleging that Kenosha law enforcement officials, including the Kenosha Police Department and the Kenosha Sheriff's office, had coordinated with and encouraged the participation of armed militias, depriving protestors of their constitutional right to freedom of speech. Grosskreutz's lawsuit alleges that police enabled the violence by allowing militia to patrol the streets, then funneled protestors toward the armed citizens, telling militia members to take care of the protesters.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Public sentiment regarding the shootings was polarized. Coverage was both critical and supportive of Rittenhouse's actions, and used terms such as "vigilante" and "terrorist", but also "volunteer" and "maintaining peace" to describe him.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Writing for the "American Bar Association Journal", Matt Reynolds observed that the "scenes in Wisconsin illustrated a tension between the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the First Amendment right to peacefully protest."


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: An Economist/YouGov poll conducted with 1,500 adult Americans between November 14–16 found that Black Americans overwhelmingly thought Rittenhouse should be found guilty of homicide while White Americans were closely divided.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: "Snopes" tracked Facebook accounts they considered unusual and determined that "foreign-run Facebook accounts celebrated the Rittenhouse verdict." Facebook removed the accounts following the report.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Many commentators were critical of the fact that Rittenhouse was not immediately arrested despite witnesses shouting that he was the shooter. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for the resignations of Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis and of Kenosha Sheriff David Beth. The ACLU statement argued that Beth's deputies fraternized with "white supremacist counter-protesters" during the day of the shooting and did not arrest the shooter. The statement attacked Miskinis for blaming those shot in the course of the shooting when he said that the violence was the result of the "persons" involved violating curfew. The Kenosha mayor stated that he would not ask the sheriff or police chief to resign.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: NBC News obtained a Department of Homeland Security internal document and reported that it directed federal law enforcement officials to make specific statements regarding Rittenhouse, such as noting that he "took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners" and that "[Rittenhouse] is innocent until proven guilty and deserves a fair trial based on all the facts, not just the ones that support a certain narrative."


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Several internet companies including Facebook, Twitter and GoFundMe restricted content related to Rittenhouse and the shooting. Two days after the shooting, Facebook removed content supporting Rittenhouse, citing rules banning praise or support of mass shooters or glorification of violence. Facebook further disabled searches for "Kyle Rittenhouse", with a spokesperson saying "We've designated this shooting as a mass murder and have removed the shooter's accounts from Facebook and Instagram". Shortly after the trial ended, Facebook lifted their ban. An online merchandise store run by Rittenhouse's family to fundraise for legal expenses was deplatformed twice, once by an unnamed vendor and again by Printify, the latter of whom stated "we don't want to be affiliated with a story that's involved in such a complex, controversial and ongoing case." GoFundMe, who banned the Rittenhouse defense fund because he was accused of a violent crime, lifted their ban after Rittenhouse was acquitted.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: In public comments six days after the shooting, then-President Donald Trump showed support for the idea that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense, saying "He was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like," noting the incident was under investigation and "I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would have been killed." The former president later described the trial as a "witch hunt from the Radical Left", and praised the not guilty verdict from the jury.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Other conservative politicians have also lauded its decision, and Rittenhouse's figure was described as being a "cause célèbre" for the political right. Ron Johnson, the Republican senator from Wisconsin, said that "justice has been served" with the verdict and called to acknowledge the ruling. Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas, and Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey, also praised the ruling, with the latter saying that the verdict "renews our faith in the jury system". Three U.S. representatives, Paul Gosar from Arizona, Madison Cawthorn from North Carolina and Matt Gaetz from Florida, offered internships in their offices to Rittenhouse; with Cawthorn stating after the not guilty verdict: "You have a right to defend yourself, so be armed, be dangerous and be moral".


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: On September 30, 2020, a month after the shootings, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden shared a post on Twitter criticizing Donald Trump for not condemning white supremacists that included a video with an image of Rittenhouse. Conservatives and right-wing politicians called upon Biden to apologize to Rittenhouse. After the November 19, 2021 verdict, Biden stated "I stand by what the jury has concluded. The jury system works and we have to abide by it." The White House issued a written statement saying "While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken[...]."


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Wisconsin governor Tony Evers said in a statement that "No verdict will be able to bring back the lives of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, or heal Gaige Grosskreutz's injuries, just as no verdict can heal the wounds or trauma experienced by Jacob Blake and his family. No ruling today changes our reality in Wisconsin that we have work to do toward equity, accountability, and justice that communities across our state are demanding and deserve."


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker said, "carrying a loaded gun into a community 20 miles from your home and shooting unarmed citizens is fundamentally wrong. It's a tragedy that the court could not acknowledge that basic fact." Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged the verdict and added that "no one should ever take the law into their own hands, or attempt to make themselves the judge, jury, and executioner. What Kyle Rittenhouse did was reckless, dangerous, and showed an utter disregard for human life."


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: New York's representative Jerry Nadler, who also serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the ruling was a miscarriage of justice and that the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) should intervene. In response to the verdict, U.S. representative from Michigan Rashida Tlaib said that the American justice system "protects white supremacy". Gun control advocates and California governor Gavin Newsom expressed concern that the verdict would encourage others to engage in vigilantism.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: In contrast to other Democratic politicians, former Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard praised the verdict.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: People protested the Rittenhouse verdict in multiple large cities in the United States. In Portland, 200 protestors gathered in the downtown area. Authorities declared a riot after protestors broke windows and doors and also attacked police. In Chicago, 1,000 protestors marched against the verdict. In Raleigh, North Carolina, people protested in front of the state Capitol Building. Peaceful protests occurred in Brooklyn, New York, where protestors blocked lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge. In Middle Village, Queens, New York, protestors damaged vehicles and ripped up flags. Five people were arrested. In California, protesters assembled in Oakland, San Diego, and Los Angeles.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: After the acquittal, Rittenhouse was interviewed by Tucker Carlson from Fox News. Against the advice of Rittenhouse's attorneys, a film crew for Carlson and Fox Nation followed him during the trial for a documentary feature. Rittenhouse made a number of public appearances on conservative programs and at associated events, including a Turning Point USA event titled AmericaFest.


title: Kenosha unrest shooting

text: After state prosecutors and attorneys for Rittenhouse agreed in January 2022 to destroy the weapon, the Kenosha police department destroyed the rifle Rittenhouse used by shredding on February 25, 2022. Mark Richards, an attorney for Rittenhouse, stated that Rittenhouse did not want the rifle to become a political symbol or trophy.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on 26 March, (L-6) by the 77th Infantry Division. The 82-day battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, away.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The United States created the Tenth Army, a cross-branch force consisting of the U.S. Army 7th, 27th, 77th and 96th Infantry Divisions with the USMC 1st, 2nd, and 6th Marine Divisions, to fight on the island. The Tenth was unique in that it had its own Tactical Air Force (joint Army-Marine command), and was also supported by combined naval and amphibious forces. Opposing the Allied forces on the ground was the Japanese Thirty-Second Army.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and "kotetsu no ame" ("rain of steel") or "kotetsu no hageshi kaze" ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese.<ref name="VeteransRH/R"></ref> The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Japanese "kamikaze" attacks and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was the bloodiest in the Pacific, with approximately 160,000 military casualties combined: around 50,000 Allied and 84,166–117,000 Japanese, including drafted Okinawans wearing Japanese uniforms. According to local authorities, at least 149,425 Okinawan people were killed, died by suicide or went missing, roughly half of the estimated pre-war population of about 300,000.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: In the naval operations surrounding the battle, both sides lost considerable numbers of ships and aircraft, including the Japanese battleship . After the battle, Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in proximity to Japan for US forces, in preparation for a planned invasion of the Japanese home islands.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: In all, the US Army had over 103,000 soldiers (of these, 38,000+ were non-divisional artillery, combat support and HQ troops, with another 9,000 service troops), over 88,000 Marines and 18,000 Navy personnel (mostly Seabees and medical personnel). At the start of the Battle of Okinawa, US Tenth Army had 182,821 personnel under its command. It was planned that Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. would report to Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner until the amphibious phase was completed, after which he would report directly to Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Total aircraft in the American Navy, Marine and Army Air Force exceeded 3000 over the course of the battle, including fighters, attack aircraft, scout planes, bombers and dive-bombers. The invasion was supported by a fleet consisting of 18 battleships, 27 cruisers, 177 destroyers/destroyer escorts, 39 aircraft carriers (11 fleet carriers, 6 light carriers and 22 escort carriers) and various support and troop transport ships.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The British naval contingent accompanied 251 British naval aircraft, and included a British Commonwealth fleet with Australian, New Zealand and Canadian ships and personnel.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The Japanese land campaign (mainly defensive) was conducted by the 67,000-strong (77,000 according to some sources) regular 32nd Army and some 9,000 Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) troops at Oroku Naval Base (only a few hundred of whom had been trained and equipped for ground combat), supported by 39,000 drafted local Ryukyuan people (including 24,000 hastily drafted rear militia called "Boeitai" and 15,000 non-uniformed laborers). The Japanese had used "kamikaze" tactics since the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but for the first time, they became a major part of the defense. Between the American landing on 1 April and 25 May, seven major "kamikaze" attacks were attempted, involving more than 1,500 planes.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The 32nd Army initially consisted of the 9th, 24th and 62nd Divisions and the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade. The 9th Division was moved to Taiwan before the invasion, resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans. Primary resistance was to be led in the south by Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima, his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Isamu Chō and his chief of operations, Colonel Hiromichi Yahara. Yahara advocated a defensive strategy, whilst Chō advocated an offensive one.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: In the north, Colonel Takehido Udo was in command. The IJN troops were led by Rear Admiral Minoru Ōta. They expected the Americans to land 6–10 divisions against the Japanese garrison of two and a half divisions. The staff calculated that superior quality and numbers of weapons gave each US division five or six times the firepower of a Japanese division. To this, would be added the Americans' abundant naval and air firepower.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On Okinawa, the Imperial Japanese Army mobilized 1,780 schoolboys aged 14–17 years into front-line-service as an "Iron and Blood Imperial Corps" ("Tekketsu Kinnōtai" ), while Himeyuri students were organized into a nursing unit. This mobilization was conducted by an ordinance of the Ministry of the Army, not by law. The ordinances mobilized the students as volunteer soldiers for form's sake; in reality, the military authorities ordered schools to force almost all students to "volunteer" as soldiers; sometimes they counterfeited the necessary documents. About half of the "Tekketsu Kinnōtai" were killed, including in suicide bomb attacks against tanks, and in guerrilla operations.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Among the 21 male and female secondary schools that made up these student corps, 2,000 students would die on the battlefield. Even with the female students acting mainly as nurses to Japanese soldiers they would still be exposed to the harsh conditions of war.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The United States Navy's Task Force 58, deployed to the east of Okinawa with a picket group of 6 to 8 destroyers, kept 13 carriers (7 CVs and 6 CVLs) on duty from 23 March to 27 April and a smaller number thereafter. Until 27 April, a minimum of 14 and up to 18 escort carriers (CVEs) were in the area at all times. Until 20 April, British Task Force 57, with 4 large and 6 escort carriers, remained off the Sakishima Islands to protect the southern flank.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The protracted length of the campaign under stressful conditions forced Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to take the unprecedented step of relieving the principal naval commanders to rest and recuperate. Following the practice of changing the fleet designation with the change of commanders, US naval forces began the campaign as the US 5th Fleet under Admiral Raymond Spruance, but ended it as the 3rd Fleet under Admiral William Halsey.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Japanese air opposition had been relatively light during the first few days after the landings. However, on 6 April, the expected air reaction began with an attack by 400 planes from Kyushu. Periodic heavy air attacks continued through April. During the period 26 March – 30 April, twenty American ships were sunk and 157 damaged by enemy action. For their part, by 30 April, the Japanese had lost more than 1,100 planes to Allied naval forces alone.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Between 6 April and 22 June, the Japanese flew 1,465 "kamikaze" aircraft in large-scale attacks from Kyushu, 185 individual "kamikaze" sorties from Kyushu, and 250 individual "kamikaze" sorties from Formosa. While US intelligence estimated there were 89 planes on Formosa, the Japanese actually had about 700, dismantled or well camouflaged and dispersed into scattered villages and towns; the US Fifth Air Force disputed Navy claims of "kamikaze" coming from Formosa.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The ships lost were smaller vessels, particularly the destroyers of the radar pickets, as well as destroyer escorts and landing ships. While no major allied warships were lost, several fleet carriers were severely damaged. Land-based Shin'yō-class suicide motorboats were also used in the Japanese suicide attacks, although Ushijima had disbanded the majority of the suicide boat battalions before the battle due to expected low effectiveness against a superior enemy. The boat crews were re-formed into three additional infantry battalions.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Operation Ten-Go ("Ten-gō sakusen") was the attempted attack by a strike force of 10 Japanese surface vessels, led by "Yamato" and commanded by Admiral Seiichi Itō. This small task force had been ordered to fight through enemy naval forces, then beach "Yamato" and fight from shore, using her guns as coastal artillery and her crew as naval infantry. The "Ten-Go" force was spotted by submarines shortly after it left the Japanese home waters, and was intercepted by US carrier aircraft.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Under attack from more than 300 aircraft over a two-hour span, the world's largest battleship sank on 7 April 1945, after a one-sided battle, long before she could reach Okinawa. (US torpedo bombers were instructed to aim for only one side to prevent effective counter flooding by the battleship's crew, and to aim for the bow or the stern, where armor was believed to be the thinnest.) Of "Yamato"s screening force, the light cruiser and 4 of the 8 destroyers were also sunk. The Imperial Japanese Navy lost some 3,700 sailors, including Admiral Itō, at the cost of 10 US aircraft and 12 airmen.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The British Pacific Fleet, taking part as Task Force 57, was assigned the task of neutralizing the Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands, which it did successfully from 26 March to 10 April.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 10 April, its attention was shifted to airfields in northern Formosa. The force withdrew to San Pedro Bay on 23 April.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 1 May, the British Pacific Fleet returned to action, subduing the airfields as before, this time with naval bombardment as well as aircraft. Several "kamikaze" attacks caused significant damage, but as the Royal Navy carriers had armoured flight decks, they experienced only a brief interruption to their force's operations.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The land battle took place over about 81 days beginning on 1 April 1945. The first Americans ashore were soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division, who landed in the Kerama Islands, west of Okinawa on 26 March. Subsidiary landings followed, and the Kerama group was secured over the next five days. In these preliminary operations, the 77th Infantry Division suffered 27 dead and 81 wounded, while the Japanese dead and captured numbered over 650. The operation provided a protected anchorage for the fleet and eliminated the threat from suicide boats.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 31 March, Marines of the Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed without opposition on Keise Shima, four islets just west of the Okinawan capital of Naha. A group of "Long Tom" artillery pieces went ashore on the islets to cover operations on Okinawa.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The main landing was made by the XXIV Corps and the III Amphibious Corps on the Hagushi beaches on the western coast of Okinawa on L-Day, 1 April. The 2nd Marine Division conducted a demonstration off the Minatoga beaches on the southeastern coast to deceive the Japanese about American intentions and delay movement of reserves from there.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Tenth Army swept across the south-central part of the island with relative ease, capturing the Kadena and the Yomitan airbases within hours of the landing. In light of the weak opposition, General Buckner decided to proceed immediately with Phase II of his plan, the seizure of northern Okinawa. The 6th Marine Division headed up the Ishikawa Isthmus and by 7 April, had sealed off the Motobu Peninsula.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Six days later on 13 April, the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Marine Regiment, reached Hedo Point (Hedo-misaki) at the northernmost tip of the island. By this point, the bulk of the Japanese forces in the north (codenamed "Udo Force") were cornered on the Motobu Peninsula. Here, the terrain was mountainous and wooded, with the Japanese defenses concentrated on Yae-Dake, a twisted mass of rocky ridges and ravines on the center of the peninsula. There was heavy fighting before the Marines finally cleared Yae-Dake on 18 April. However, this was not the end of ground combat in northern Okinawa. On 24 May, the Japanese mounted Operation Gi-gou: a company of "Giretsu Kuteitai" commandos were airlifted in a suicide attack on Yomitan. They destroyed of fuel and nine planes before being killed by the defenders, who lost two men.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Meanwhile, the 77th Infantry Division assaulted Ie Island (Ie Shima), a small island off the western end of the peninsula, on 16 April. In addition to conventional hazards, the 77th Infantry Division encountered "kamikaze" attacks and even local women armed with spears. There was heavy fighting before the area was declared secured on 21 April, and became another airbase for operations against Japan.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: While the 6th Marine Division cleared northern Okinawa, the US Army 96th and 7th Infantry Divisions wheeled south across the narrow waist of Okinawa. The 96th Infantry Division began to encounter fierce resistance in west-central Okinawa from Japanese troops holding fortified positions east of Highway No. 1 and about northwest of Shuri, from what came to be known as Cactus Ridge. The 7th Infantry Division encountered similarly fierce Japanese opposition from a rocky pinnacle located about southwest of Arakachi (later dubbed "The Pinnacle"). By the night of 8 April, American troops had cleared these and several other strongly fortified positions. They suffered over 1,500 battle casualties in the process while killing or capturing about 4,500 Japanese. Yet the battle had only begun, for it was now realized that "these were merely outposts," guarding the Shuri Line.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The next American objective was Kakazu Ridge (), two hills with a connecting saddle that formed part of Shuri's outer defenses. The Japanese had prepared their positions well and fought tenaciously. The Japanese soldiers hid in fortified caves. American forces often lost personnel before clearing the Japanese out from each cave or other hiding place. The Japanese sent Okinawans at gunpoint out to obtain water and supplies for them, which led to civilian casualties. The American advance was inexorable but resulted in a high number of casualties on both sides.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: As the American assault against Kakazu Ridge stalled, Lieutenant General Ushijima – influenced by General Chō — decided to take the offensive. On the evening of 12 April, the 32nd Army attacked American positions across the entire front. The Japanese attack was heavy, sustained, and well organized. After fierce close combat, the attackers retreated, only to repeat their offensive the following night. A final assault on 14 April was again repulsed. The effort led the 32nd Army's staff to conclude that the Americans were vulnerable to night infiltration tactics, but that their superior firepower made any offensive Japanese troop concentrations extremely dangerous, and they reverted to their defensive strategy.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The 27th Infantry Division, which had landed on 9 April, took over on the right, along the west coast of Okinawa. General John R. Hodge now had three divisions in the line, with the 96th in the middle and the 7th to the east, with each division holding a front of only about . Hodge launched a new offensive on 19 April with a barrage of 324 guns, the largest ever in the Pacific Ocean Theater. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers joined the bombardment, which was followed by 650 Navy and Marine planes attacking the Japanese positions with napalm, rockets, bombs, and machine guns. The Japanese defenses were sited on reverse slopes, where the defenders waited out the artillery barrage and aerial attack in relative safety, emerging from the caves to rain mortar rounds and grenades upon the Americans advancing up the forward slope.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: A tank assault to achieve breakthrough by outflanking Kakazu Ridge failed to link up with its infantry support attempting to cross the ridge and therefore failed with the loss of 22 tanks. Although flame tanks cleared many cave defenses, there was no breakthrough, and the XXIV Corps suffered 720 casualties. The losses might have been greater except for the fact that the Japanese had practically all of their infantry reserves tied up farther south, held there by another feint off the Minatoga beaches by the 2nd Marine Division that coincided with the attack.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: At the end of April, after Army forces had pushed through the Machinato defensive line, the 1st Marine Division relieved the 27th Infantry Division and the 77th Infantry Division relieved the 96th. When the 6th Marine Division arrived, the III Amphibious Corps took over the right flank and Tenth Army assumed control of the battle.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 4 May, the 32nd Army launched another counteroffensive. This time, Ushijima attempted to make amphibious assaults on the coasts behind American lines. To support his offensive, the Japanese artillery moved into the open. By doing so, they were able to fire 13,000 rounds in support, but effective American counter-battery fire destroyed dozens of Japanese artillery pieces. The attack failed.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Buckner launched another American attack on 11 May. Ten days of fierce fighting followed. On 13 May, troops of the 96th Infantry Division and 763rd Tank Battalion captured Conical Hill (). Rising above the Yonabaru coastal plain, this feature was the eastern anchor of the main Japanese defenses and was defended by about 1,000 Japanese. Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions fought for "Sugar Loaf Hill" (). The capture of these two key positions exposed the Japanese around Shuri on both sides. Buckner hoped to envelop Shuri and trap the main Japanese defending force.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: By the end of May, monsoon rains which had turned contested hills and roads into a morass exacerbated both the tactical and medical situations. The ground advance began to resemble a World War I battlefield, as troops became mired in mud, and flooded roads greatly inhibited evacuation of wounded to the rear. Troops lived on a field sodden by rain, part garbage dump and part graveyard. Unburied Japanese and American bodies decayed, sank in the mud and became part of a noxious stew. Anyone sliding down the greasy slopes could easily find their pockets full of maggots at the end of the journey.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: From 24 to 27 May the 6th Marine Division cautiously occupied the ruins of Naha, the largest city on the island, finding it largely deserted.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 26 May aerial observers saw large troop movements just below Shuri. On 28 May Marine patrols found recently abandoned positions west of Shuri. By 30 May the consensus among Army and Marine intelligence was that the majority of Japanese forces had withdrawn from the Shuri Line. On 29 May the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines occupied high ground east of Shuri Castle and reported that the Castle appeared undefended. At 10:15 Company A, 1/5 Marines occupied the Castle


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Shuri Castle had been shelled by the battleship for three days before this advance. Due to this, the 32nd Army withdrew to the south and thus the Marines had an easy task of securing Shuri Castle. The castle, however, was outside the 1st Marine Division's assigned zone and only frantic efforts by the commander and staff of the 77th Infantry Division prevented an American airstrike and artillery bombardment which would have resulted in many casualties due to friendly fire.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The Japanese retreat, although harassed by artillery fire, was conducted with great skill at night and aided by the monsoon storms. The 32nd Army was able to move nearly 30,000 personnel into its last defense line on the Kiyan Peninsula, which ultimately led to the greatest slaughter on Okinawa in the latter stages of the battle, including the deaths of thousands of civilians. In addition, there were 9,000 IJN troops supported by 1,100 militia, with approximately 4,000 holed up at the underground headquarters on the hillside overlooking the Okinawa Naval Base in the Oroku Peninsula, east of the airfield.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 4 June, elements of the 6th Marine Division launched an amphibious assault on the peninsula. The 4,000 Japanese sailors, including Admiral Ōta, all committed suicide within the hand-built tunnels of the underground naval headquarters on 13 June.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: By 17 June, the remnants of Ushijima's shattered 32nd Army were pushed into a small pocket in the far south of the island to the southeast of Itoman.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 18 June, General Buckner was killed by Japanese artillery fire while monitoring the progress of his troops from a forward observation post. Buckner was replaced by Major General Roy Geiger. Upon assuming command, Geiger became the only US Marine to command a numbered army of the US Army in combat; he was relieved five days later by General Joseph Stilwell. On 19 June, Brigadier General Claudius Miller Easley, the commander of the 96th Infantry Division, was killed by Japanese machine-gun fire, also while checking on the progress of his troops at the front.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The last remnants of Japanese resistance ended on 21 June, although some Japanese continued hiding, including the future governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Masahide Ōta. Ushijima and Chō committed suicide by "seppuku" in their command headquarters on Hill 89 in the closing hours of the battle. Colonel Yahara had asked Ushijima for permission to commit suicide, but the general refused his request, saying: "If you die there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army Commander." Yahara was the most senior officer to have survived the battle on the island, and he later authored a book titled "The Battle for Okinawa". On 22 June Tenth Army held a flag-raising ceremony to mark the end of organized resistance on Okinawa. On 23 June a mopping-up operation commenced, which concluded on 30 June.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 15 August 1945, Admiral Matome Ugaki was killed while part of a kamikaze raid on Iheyajima island. The official surrender ceremony was held on 7 September, near the Kadena airfield.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. The most complete tally of deaths during the battle is at the Cornerstone of Peace monument at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, which identifies the names of each individual who died at Okinawa in World War II. As of 2010, the monument lists 240,931 names, including 149,611 Okinawans, 77,485 Imperial Japanese soldiers, 14,009 Americans, and smaller numbers of people from South Korea (382), the United Kingdom (82), North Korea (82) and Taiwan (34).


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The numbers correspond to recorded deaths during the Battle of Okinawa from the time of the American landings in the Kerama Islands on 26 March 1945, to the signing of the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945, in addition to all Okinawan casualties in the Pacific War in the 15 years from the Manchurian Incident, along with those who died in Okinawa from war-related events in the year before the battle and the year after the surrender. 234,183 names were inscribed by the time of unveiling and new names are added each year. 40,000 of the Okinawan civilians killed had been drafted or impressed by the Japanese army and are often counted as combat deaths.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The Americans suffered some 48,000 casualties, not including some 33,000 non-battle casualties (psychiatric, injuries, illnesses), of whom over 12,000 were killed or missing. Killed in action were 4,907 Navy, 4,675 Army, and 2,938 Marine Corps personnel; when excluding naval losses at sea and losses on the surrounding islands (such as Ie Shima), 6,316 killed and over 30,000 wounded occurred on Okinawa proper. Other authors such as John Keegan have come up with higher numbers.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The most famous American casualty was Lieutenant General Buckner, whose decision to attack the Japanese defenses head-on, although extremely costly in American lives, was ultimately successful. Four days from the closing of the campaign, Buckner was killed by Japanese artillery fire, which blew lethal slivers of coral into his body, while inspecting his troops at the front line. He was the highest-ranking US officer to be killed by enemy fire during the Second World War. The day after Buckner was killed, Brigadier General Easley was killed by Japanese machine gunfire. The famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle was also killed by Japanese machine-gun fire on Ie Shima, a small island just off of northwestern Okinawa.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Aircraft losses over the three-month period were 768 US planes, including those bombing the Kyushu airfields launching "kamikaze"s. Combat losses were 458, and the other 310 were operational accidents. At sea, 368 Allied ships—including 120 amphibious craft—were damaged while another 36—including 15 amphibious ships and 12 destroyers—were sunk during the Okinawa campaign. The US Navy's dead exceeded its wounded, with 4,907 killed and 4,874 wounded, primarily from "kamikaze" attacks.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: American personnel casualties included thousands of cases of mental breakdown. According to the account of the battle presented in "Marine Corps Gazette":


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The following table lists the Allied naval vessels that received damage or were sunk in the Battle of Okinawa between 19 March – 30 July 1945. The table lists a total of 147 damaged ships, five of which were damaged by enemy suicide boats, and another five by mines. During the Naval Battle of Okinawa, which started before the amphibious landings on Okinawa on 1 April, the large fast aircraft carriers USS "Franklin" suffered 724 to 807 killed and missing and USS "Bunker Hill" suffered 396 killed and missing. These were the first and third largest loss of life on damaged or sunken American aircraft carriers during World War II. These two aircraft carriers had sustained very severe damage from Japanese attacks and as a result were the only aircraft carriers in the "Essex"-class that did not experience any active service after the end of World War II. One source estimated that total Japanese sorties during the entire Okinawa campaign exceeded 3,700, with a large percentage kamikaze, and that the attackers damaged slightly more than 200 Allied vessels, with 4,900 naval officers and seamen killed and roughly 4,824 wounded or missing. The "USS Thorton" was damaged as the result of a collision with another US ship. Those ships in a pink background, and with an asterisk were sunk or had to be scuttled due to irreparable damage. Of those sunk, the majority were relatively smaller ships; these included destroyers of around 300–450 feet. A few small cargo ships were also sunk, several containing munitions which caught fire. Those ships whose names are preceded by a "#" pound sign, were scrapped or decommissioned as a result of damage.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The US military estimates that 110,071 Japanese soldiers were killed during the battle. This total includes conscripted Okinawan civilians.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: A total of 7,401 Japanese regulars and 3,400 Okinawan conscripts surrendered or were captured during the battle. Additional Japanese and renegade Okinawans were captured or surrendered over the next few months, bringing the total to 16,346. This was the first battle in the Pacific War in which thousands of Japanese soldiers surrendered or were captured. Many of the prisoners were native Okinawans who had been pressed into service shortly before the battle and were less imbued with the Imperial Japanese Army's no-surrender doctrine. When the American forces occupied the island, many Japanese soldiers put on Okinawan clothing to avoid capture, and some Okinawans would come to the Americans' aid by offering to identify these mainland Japanese.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The Japanese lost 16 combat vessels, including the super battleship "Yamato". Early claims of Japanese aircraft losses put the total at 7,800, however later examination of Japanese records revealed that Japanese aircraft losses at Okinawa were far below often-repeated US estimates for the campaign. The number of conventional and kamikaze aircraft actually lost or expended by the 3rd, 5th, and 10th Air Fleets, combined with about 500 lost or expended by the Imperial Army at Okinawa, was roughly 1,430. The Allies destroyed 27 Japanese tanks and 743 artillery pieces (including mortars, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns), some of them eliminated by the naval and air bombardments but most knocked out by American counter-battery fire.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Some of the other islands that saw major battles in World War II, such as Iwo Jima, were uninhabited or had been evacuated. Okinawa, by contrast, had a large indigenous civilian population; US Army records from the planning phase of the operation made the assumption that Okinawa was home to about 300,000 civilians. According to various estimates, between a tenth and a third of them died during the battle, or between 30,000 and 100,000 people. The official US Tenth Army count for the 82-day campaign is a total of 142,058 recovered enemy bodies (including those civilians pressed into service by the Imperial Japanese Army), with the deduction made that about 42,000 were non-uniformed civilians who had been killed in the crossfire. Okinawa Prefecture's estimate is over 100,000 losses,


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: During the battle, American forces found it difficult to distinguish civilians from soldiers. It became common for them to shoot at Okinawan houses, as one infantryman wrote:


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: There was some return fire from a few of the houses, but the others were probably occupied by civilians – and we didn't care. It was a terrible thing not to distinguish between the enemy and women and children. Americans always had great compassion, especially for children. Now we fired indiscriminately.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: In its history of the war, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum presents Okinawa as being caught between Japan and the United States. During the 1945 battle, the Imperial Japanese Army showed indifference to Okinawans' safety, and its soldiers used civilians as human shields, or outright killed them. The Japanese military also confiscated food from the Okinawans and executed those who hid it, leading to mass starvation, and forced civilians out of their shelters. Japanese soldiers also killed about 1,000 people who spoke in the Okinawan language to suppress spying. The museum writes that "some were blown apart by [artillery] shells, some finding themselves in a hopeless situation were driven to suicide, some died of starvation, some succumbed to malaria, while others fell victim to the retreating Japanese troops."


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: With the impending Japanese defeat, civilians often committed mass suicide, urged on by the Japanese soldiers who told locals that victorious American soldiers would go on a rampage of killing and raping. "Ryūkyū Shimpō", one of the two major Okinawan newspapers, wrote in 2007: "There are many Okinawans who have testified that the Japanese Army directed them to commit suicide. There are also people who have testified that they were handed grenades by Japanese soldiers" to blow themselves up. Thousands of civilians, having been induced by Japanese propaganda to believe that American soldiers were barbarians who committed horrible atrocities, killed their families and themselves to avoid capture at the hands of the Americans. Some of them threw themselves and their family members from the southern cliffs where the Peace Museum now resides. Okinawans "were often surprised at the comparatively humane treatment they received from the American enemy". "Islands of Discontent: Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power" by Mark Selden states that the Americans "did not pursue a policy of torture, rape, and murder of civilians as Japanese military officials had warned". American Military Intelligence Corps combat translators such as Teruto Tsubota managed to convince many civilians not to kill themselves. Survivors of the mass suicides blamed also the indoctrination of their education system of the time, in which the Okinawans were taught to become "more Japanese than the Japanese", and were expected to prove it.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Witnesses and historians claim that soldiers, mainly Japanese troops, raped Okinawan women during the battle. Rape by Japanese troops reportedly "became common" in June, after it became clear that the Imperial Japanese Army had been defeated. Marine Corps officials in Okinawa and Washington have said that they knew of no rapes by American personnel in Okinawa at the end of the war. There are, however, numerous credible testimony accounts which note that a large number of rapes were committed by American forces during the battle. This includes stories of rape after trading sexual favors or even marrying Americans, such as the alleged incident in the village of Katsuyama, where civilians said they had formed a vigilante group to ambush and kill three black American soldiers who they claimed would frequently rape the local girls there.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: There is ongoing disagreement between Okinawa's local government and Japan's national government over the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides during the battle. In March 2007, the national Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) advised textbook publishers to reword descriptions that the embattled Imperial Japanese Army forced civilians to kill themselves in the war to avoid being taken prisoner. MEXT preferred descriptions that just say that civilians received hand grenades from the Japanese military. This move sparked widespread protests among Okinawans. In June 2007, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly adopted a resolution stating, "We strongly call on the (national) government to retract the instruction and to immediately restore the description in the textbooks so the truth of the Battle of Okinawa will be handed down correctly and a tragic war will never happen again."


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: On 29 September 2007, about 110,000 people held the biggest political rally in the history of Okinawa to demand that MEXT retract its order to textbook publishers regarding revising the account of the civilian suicides. The resolution stated, "It is an undeniable fact that the 'multiple suicides' would not have occurred without the involvement of the Japanese military and any deletion of or revision to (the descriptions) is a denial and distortion of the many testimonies by those people who survived the incidents." In December 2007, MEXT partially admitted the role of the Japanese military in civilian mass suicides. The ministry's Textbook Authorization Council allowed the publishers to reinstate the reference that civilians "were forced into mass suicides by the Japanese military", on condition it is placed in sufficient context. The council report stated, "It can be said that from the viewpoint of the Okinawa residents, they were forced into the mass suicides." That was not enough for the survivors who said it is important for children today to know what really happened.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: The Nobel Prize-winning author Kenzaburō Ōe wrote a booklet that states that the mass suicide order was given by the military during the battle. He was sued by revisionists, including a wartime commander during the battle, who disputed this and wanted to stop publication of the booklet. At a court hearing, Ōe testified "Mass suicides were forced on Okinawa islanders under Japan's hierarchical social structure that ran through the state of Japan, the Japanese armed forces and local garrisons." In March 2008, the Osaka Prefecture Court ruled in favor of Ōe, stating, "It can be said the military was deeply involved in the mass suicides." The court recognized the military's involvement in the mass suicides and murder-suicides, citing the testimony about the distribution of grenades for suicide by soldiers and the fact that mass suicides were not recorded on islands where the military was not stationed.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: In 2012, Korean-Japanese director Pak Su-nam announced her work on the documentary "Nuchigafu" (Okinawan for "only if one is alive") collecting living survivors' accounts to show "the truth of history to many people", alleging that "there were two types of orders for 'honorable deaths'—one for residents to kill each other and the other for the military to kill all residents". In March 2013, Japanese textbook publisher Shimizu Shoin was permitted by MEXT to publish the statements that "Orders from Japanese soldiers led to Okinawans committing group suicide" and "The [Japanese] army caused many tragedies in Okinawa, killing local civilians and forcing them to commit mass suicide."


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: 90% of the buildings on the island were destroyed, along with countless historical documents, artifacts, and cultural treasures, and the tropical landscape was turned into "a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots". The military value of Okinawa "exceeded all hope". Okinawa provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in proximity to Japan. The US cleared the surrounding waters of mines in Operation Zebra, occupied Okinawa, and set up the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, a form of military government, after the battle. In 2011, one official of the prefectural government told David Hearst of "The Guardian":


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Because the next major event following the Battle of Okinawa was "the total surrender of Japan," the "effect" of this battle is more difficult to consider. Due to the surrender, the next anticipated series of battles, an invasion of the Japanese homeland, never occurred and all military strategies on both sides which presupposed this apparently-inevitable next development were immediately rendered moot.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Some military historians believe that the Okinawa campaign led directly to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a means of avoiding the planned ground invasion of the Japanese mainland. This view is explained by Victor Davis Hanson in his book "Ripples of Battle":


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Meanwhile, many parties continue to debate the broader question of "why Japan surrendered", attributing the surrender to a number of possible reasons including: the atomic bombings, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, and Japan's depleted resources.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: In 1995, the Okinawa government erected a memorial monument named the Cornerstone of Peace in Mabuni, the site of the last fighting in southeastern Okinawa. The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle, civilian and military, Japanese and foreign. As of June 2008, it contains 240,734 names including 382 Koreans.


title: Battle of Okinawa

text: Significant US forces remain garrisoned on Okinawa as the United States Forces Japan, which the Japanese government sees as an important guarantee of regional stability, and Kadena remains the largest US air base in Asia. Local residents have long protested against the size and presence of the base.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu, officially Kathmandu Metropolitan City, is the capital and most populous city of Nepal with 845,767 inhabitants living in 105,649 households in 2021 and 2.9 million people in its urban agglomeration. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley, a large valley in the high plateaus in central Nepal, at an altitude of .


title: Kathmandu

text: The city is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, founded in the 2nd century CE. The valley was historically called the "Nepal Mandala" and has been the home of the Newar people, a cosmopolitan urban civilization in the Himalayan foothills. The city was the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nepal and hosts palaces, mansions and gardens built by the Nepali aristocracy. It has been home to the headquarters of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) since 1985. Today, it is the seat of government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, established in 2008, and is part of Bagmati Province.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu is and has been for many years the centre of Nepal's history, art, culture, and economy. It has a multi-ethnic population within a Hindu and Buddhist majority. Religious and cultural festivities form a major part of the lives of people residing in Kathmandu. Tourism is an important part of the economy in the city. In 2013, Kathmandu was ranked third among the top ten upcoming travel destinations in the world by TripAdvisor, and ranked first in Asia. The city is considered the gateway to the Nepal Himalayas and is home to several World Heritage Sites: the Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath and Pashupatinath. Kathmandu valley is growing at 4 percent per year according to the World Bank in 2010, making it one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in South Asia, and the first region in Nepal to face the unprecedented challenges of rapid urbanization and modernization at a metropolitan scale. It is the largest metropolitan area located in the Himalayas.


title: Kathmandu

text: Historic areas of Kathmandu were severely damaged by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015. Some buildings have been restored while some remain in the process of reconstruction.


title: Kathmandu

text: The indigenous Nepal Bhasa term for Kathmandu is "Yen". The Nepali name "Kathmandu" comes from Kasthamandap, which stood in Durbar Square, was completely destroyed by the earthquake of April 2015, but has since been reconstructed. In Sanskrit, () means "wood" and () means "pavilion". This public pavilion, also known as "Maru Satta" in Newari, was rebuilt in 1596 by Biseth in the period of King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The three-storey structure was made entirely of wood and used no iron nails nor supports. According to legends, all the timber used to build the pagoda was obtained from a single tree. The structure collapsed during a major earthquake in April 2015.


title: Kathmandu

text: The colophons of ancient manuscripts, dated as late as the 20th century, refer to Kathmandu as in Nepal Mandala. Mahānagar means "great city". The city is called in a vow that Buddhist priests still recite to this day. Thus, Kathmandu is also known as . During medieval times, the city was sometimes called Kāntipur (). This name is derived from two Sanskrit words – and . is a word that stands for "beauty" and is mostly associated with light and means place, thus giving it the meaning, "City of light".


title: Kathmandu

text: Among the indigenous Newar people, Kathmandu is known as "Yeṃ Dey" (), and Patan and Bhaktapur are known as "Yala Dey" () and "Khwopa Dey" () respectively. "Yen" is the shorter form of "Yambu" (), which originally referred to the northern half of Kathmandu. The older northern settlements were referred to as Yambi while the southern settlement was known as Yangala.


title: Kathmandu

text: The spelling "Katmandu" was often used in older English-language text. More recently, however, the spelling "Kathmandu" has become more common in English.


title: Kathmandu

text: Archaeological excavations in parts of Kathmandu have found evidence of ancient civilizations. The oldest of these findings is a statue, found in Maligaon, that was dated at 185 CE The excavation of Dhando Chaitya uncovered a brick with an inscription in Brahmi script. Archaeologists believe it is two thousand years old. Stone inscriptions are a ubiquitous element at heritage sites and are key sources for the history of Nepal.


title: Kathmandu

text: The earliest Western reference to Kathmandu appears in an account of Jesuit Fathers the Portuguese Jesuit, Fr. Joao Cabral who passed through the Kathmandu Valley in the spring of 1628 and was received graciously by the king of that time, probably King Lakshminarasimha Malla of Kathmandu on their way from Tibet to India, and reported that they reached "Cadmendu", the capital of Nepal kingdom.


title: Kathmandu

text: The ancient history of Kathmandu is described in its traditional myths and legends. According to Swayambhu Purana, present-day Kathmandu was once a huge and deep lake named "Nagdaha", as it was full of snakes. The lake was cut drained by Bodhisatwa Manjushree with his sword, and the water was evacuated out from there. He then established a city called Manjupattan, and made Dharmakar the ruler of the valley land. After some time, a demon named Banasur closed the outlet, and the valley again turned into a lake. Then Lord Krishna came to Nepal, killed Banasur, and again drained out the water by Cutting the edge of Chobhar hill with this Sudharshan Chakra. He brought some Gopals along with him and made Bhuktaman the king of Nepal.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kotirudra Samhita of Shiva Purana, Chapter 11, "Shloka" 18 refers to the place as Nayapala city, which was famous for its Pashupati Shivalinga. The name Nepal probably originates from this city Nayapala.


title: Kathmandu

text: Very few historical records exists of the period before medieval Licchavi rulers. According to Gopalraj Vansawali, a genealogy of Nepali monarchy, the rulers of Kathmandu Valley before the Licchavis were Gopalas, Mahispalas, Aabhirs, Kiratas, and Somavanshi. The Kirata dynasty was established by Yalamber. During the Kirata era, a settlement called Yambu existed in the northern half of old Kathmandu. In some of the Sino-Tibetan languages, Kathmandu is still called Yambu. Another smaller settlement called Yengal was present in the southern half of old Kathmandu, near Manjupattan. During the reign of the seventh Kirata ruler, Jitedasti, Buddhist monks entered Kathmandu valley and established a forest monastery at Sankhu.


title: Kathmandu

text: The Licchavis from the Indo-Gangetic plain migrated north and defeated the Kirats, establishing the Licchavi dynasty, circa 400 CE. During this era, following the genocide of Shakyas in Lumbini by Virudhaka, the survivors migrated north and entered the forest monastery lora masquerading as Koliyas. From Sankhu, they migrated to Yambu and Yengal (Lanjagwal and Manjupattan) and established the first permanent Buddhist monasteries of Kathmandu. This created the basis of Newar Buddhism, which is the only surviving Sanskrit-based Buddhist tradition in the world. With their migration, Yambu was called Koligram and Yengal was called Dakshin Koligram during most of the Licchavi era.


title: Kathmandu

text: Eventually, the Licchavi ruler Gunakamadeva merged Koligram and Dakshin Koligram, founding the city of Kathmandu. The city was designed in the shape of "Chandrahrasa", the sword of Manjushri. The city was surrounded by eight barracks guarded by Ajimas. One of these barracks is still in use at Bhadrakali (in front of Singha Durbar). The city served as an important transit point in the trade between India and Tibet, leading to tremendous growth in architecture. Descriptions of buildings such as Managriha, Kailaskut Bhawan, and Bhadradiwas Bhawan have been found in the surviving journals of travellers and monks who lived during this era. For example, the famous 7th-century Chinese traveller Xuanzang described Kailaskut Bhawan, the palace of the Licchavi king Amshuverma. The trade route also led to cultural exchange as well. The artistry of the Newar people—the indigenous inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley—became highly sought after during this era, both within the Valley and throughout the greater Himalayas. Newar artists travelled extensively throughout Asia, creating religious art for their neighbours. For example, Araniko led a group of his compatriot artists through Tibet and China. Bhrikuti, the princess of Nepal who married Tibetan monarch Songtsän Gampo, was instrumental in introducing Buddhism to Tibet.


title: Kathmandu

text: The Licchavi era was followed by the Malla era. Rulers from Tirhut, upon being attacked by the Delhi Sultanate, fled north to the Kathmandu valley. They intermarried with Nepali royalty, and this led to the Malla era. The early years of the Malla era were turbulent, with raids and attacks from Khas and Turk Muslims. There was also a devastating earthquake which claimed the lives of a third of Kathmandu's population, including the king Abhaya Malla. These disasters led to the destruction of most of the architecture of the Licchavi era (such as Mangriha and Kailashkut Bhawan), and the loss of literature collected in various monasteries within the city. Despite the initial hardships, Kathmandu rose to prominence again and, during most of the Malla era, dominated the trade between India and Tibet. Nepali currency became the standard currency in trans-Himalayan trade.


title: Kathmandu

text: During the later part of the Malla era, Kathmandu Valley comprised four fortified cities: Kantipur, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, and Kirtipur. These served as the capitals of the Malla confederation of Nepal. These states competed with each other in the arts, architecture, esthetics, and trade, resulting in tremendous development. The kings of this period directly influenced or involved themselves in the construction of public buildings, squares, and temples, as well as the development of waterspouts, the institutionalisation of trusts (called guthis), the codification of laws, the writing of dramas, and the performance of plays in city squares. Evidence of an influx of ideas from India, Tibet, China, Persia, and Europe among other places can be found in a stone inscription from the time of king Pratap Malla. Books have been found from this era that describe their tantric tradition (e.g. Tantrakhyan), medicine (e.g. Haramekhala), religion (e.g. Mooldevshashidev), law, morals, and history. Amarkosh, a Sanskrit-Nepal Bhasa dictionary from 1381 CE was also found. Architecturally notable buildings from this era include Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, the former durbar of Kirtipur, Nyatapola, Kumbheshwar, the Krishna temple, and others.


title: Kathmandu

text: The Gorkha Kingdom ended the Malla confederation after the Battle of Kathmandu in 1768. This marked the beginning of the modern era in Kathmandu. The Battle of Kirtipur was the start of the Gorkha conquest of the Kathmandu Valley. Kathmandu was adopted as the capital of the Gorkha empire, and the empire itself was dubbed Nepal. During the early part of this era, Kathmandu maintained its distinctive culture. Buildings with characteristic Nepali architecture, such as the nine-story tower of Basantapur, were built during this era. However, trade declined because of continual war with neighbouring nations. Bhimsen Thapa supported France against Great Britain; this led to the development of modern military structures, such as modern barracks in Kathmandu. The nine-storey tower Dharahara was originally built during this era.


title: Kathmandu

text: Rana rule over Nepal started with the Kot massacre of 1846, which occurred near Hanuman Dhoka Durbar. During this massacre, most of Nepal's high-ranking officials were massacred by Jung Bahadur Rana and his supporters. Another massacre, the Bhandarkhal Massacre, was also conducted by Kunwar and his supporters in Kathmandu. During the Rana regime, Kathmandu's alliance shifted from anti-British to pro-British; this led to the construction of the first buildings in the style of Western European architecture. The most well-known of these buildings include Singha Durbar, Garden of Dreams, Shital Niwas, and the old Narayanhiti palace. The first modern commercial road in the Kathmandu Valley, the New Road, was also built during this era. Trichandra College (the first college of Nepal), Durbar High School (the first modern school of Nepal), and Bir Hospital (the first hospital of Nepal) were built in Kathmandu during this era. Education was only accessible to the privileged class. Rana rule was marked by despotism, economic exploitation and religious persecution.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu is in the northwestern part of the Kathmandu Valley to the north of the Bagmati River and covers an area of . The average elevation is above sea level. The city is bounded by several other municipalities of the Kathmandu valley: south of the Bagmati by Lalitpur Metropolitan City (Patan), with which it forms one urban area surrounded by a ring road, to the southwest by Kirtipur and to the east by Madyapur Thimi. To the north the urban area extends into several municipalities; Nagarjun, Tarakeshwor, Tokha, Budhanilkantha, Gokarneshwor and Kageshwori Manohara. However, the urban agglomeration extends well beyond the neighbouring municipalities, e.g. to Bhaktapur, and nearly covers the entire Kathmandu Valley.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu is dissected by eight rivers, the main river of the valley, the Bagmati and its tributaries, of which the Bishnumati, Dhobi Khola, Manohara Khola, Hanumante Khola, and Tukucha Khola are predominant. The mountains from where these rivers originate are in the elevation range of , and have passes which provide access to and from Kathmandu and its valley. An ancient canal once flowed from Nagarjuna hill through Balaju to Kathmandu; this canal is now extinct.


title: Kathmandu

text: The city of Kathmandu and the surrounding valley are in the "Deciduous Monsoon Forest Zone" (altitude range of ), one of five vegetation zones defined for Nepal. The dominant tree species in this zone are oak, elm, beech, maple and others, with coniferous trees at higher altitude.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu and adjacent cities are composed of neighbourhoods, which are utilized quite extensively and more familiar among locals. However, administratively the city is divided into 32 wards, numbered from 1 to 32. Earlier, there were 35 wards which made it the metropolitan city with the largest number of the wards. Balendra Shah (Balen) has been elected as the new mayor of Kathmandu


title: Kathmandu

text: Under Köppen's climate classification, portions of the city with lower elevations (1300-1400m) which is 88 percent of total have a humid subtropical climate (Cwa), while portions of the city with higher elevations generally have a subtropical highland climate (Cwb). In the Kathmandu Valley, which is representative of its valley's climate, the average summer temperature varies from . The average winter temperature is .


title: Kathmandu

text: Five major climatic regions are found in Nepal. Of these, High hills of Kathmandu Valley including Chandragiri hill is in the "Warm Temperate Zone" (elevation ranging from ), where the climate is fairly temperate, atypical for the region. This zone is followed by the "Cool Temperate Zone" with elevation varying between .


title: Kathmandu

text: The city generally has a climate with warm days followed by cool nights and mornings. Unpredictable weather is expected, given that temperatures can drop to or less during the winter. During a 2013 cold front, the winter temperatures of Kathmandu dropped to , and the lowest temperature was recorded on 10 January 2013, at . Rainfall is mostly monsoon-based (about 65% of the total concentrated during the monsoon months of June to September), and decreases substantially () from eastern Nepal to western Nepal. Rainfall has been recorded at about for the Kathmandu valley, and averages for the city of Kathmandu. On average humidity is 75%. The chart below is based on data from the Nepal Bureau of Standards & Meteorology, Weather Meteorology for 2005. The chart provides minimum and maximum temperatures during each month. The annual amount of precipitation was for 2005, as per monthly data included in the table above. The decade of 2000–2010 saw highly variable and unprecedented precipitation anomalies in Kathmandu. This was mostly due to the annual variation of the southwest monsoon. For example, 2001 recorded only of precipitation due to an extraordinarily weak monsoon season. In contrast, 2003 was the wettest year ever in Kathmandu, totaling over of precipitation due to an exceptionally strong monsoon season.


title: Kathmandu

text: Air pollution is a major issue in the Kathmandu Valley. According to the 2016 World Health Organization's Ambient Air Pollution Database, the annual average PM2.5 (particulate matter) concentration in 2013 was 49 μg/m, which is 4.9 times higher than recommended by the World Health Organization. Starting in early 2017, the Government of Nepal and the Embassy of the United States in Kathmandu have monitored and publicly share real-time air quality data. In Nepal and Kathmandu, the annual premature deaths due to air pollution reached 37,399 and 9,943 respectively, according to a Republica news report published on 23 November 2019. This indicates, around a quarter of the total deaths due to air pollution in Nepal are in Kathmandu.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu Municipal Corporation (KMC) is the chief nodal agency for the administration of Kathmandu. The Municipality of Kathmandu was upgraded to a metropolitan city in 1995.


title: Kathmandu

text: Metropolitan Kathmandu is divided into five sectors: the Central Sector, the East Sector, the North Sector, the City Core and the West Sector. For civic administration, the city is further divided into 35 administrative wards. The Council administers the Metropolitan area of Kathmandu city through its 177 elected representatives and 20 nominated members. It holds biannual meetings to review, process and approve the annual budget and make major policy decisions. The ward's profile documents for the 35 wards prepared by the Kathmandu Metropolitan Council is detailed and provides information for each ward on population, the structure and condition of houses, the type of roads, educational, health and financial institutions, entertainment facilities, parking space, security provisions, etc. It also includes lists of development projects completed, on-going and planned, along with informative data about the cultural heritage, festivals, historical sites and the local inhabitants. Ward 16 is the largest, with an area of 437.4 ha; ward 26 is the smallest, with an area of 4 ha.


title: Kathmandu

text: The Metropolitan Police is the main law enforcement agency in the city. It is headed by a commissioner of police. The Metropolitan Police is a division of the Nepal Police, and the administrative control lies with the Ministry of Home Affairs.


title: Kathmandu

text: The fire service, known as the "Barun Yantra Karyalaya" (), opened its first station in Kathmandu in 1937 with a single-vehicle. An iron tower was erected to monitor the city and watch for a fire. As a precautionary measure, firemen were sent to the areas which were designated as accident-prone areas. In 1944, the fire service was extended to the neighbouring cities of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. In 1966, a fire service was established in Kathmandu central airport. In 1975, a West German government donation added seven fire engines to Kathmandu's fire service. The fire service in the city is also overlooked by an international non-governmental organization, the Firefighters Volunteer Association of Nepal (FAN), which was established in 2000 with the purpose of raising public awareness about fire and improving safety.


title: Kathmandu

text: Electricity in Kathmandu is regulated and distributed by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). Water supply and sanitation facilities are provided by the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL). There is a severe shortage of water for household purposes such as drinking, bathing, cooking and washing and irrigation. People have been using bottled mineral water, water from tank trucks and from the ancient dhunge dharas () for all the purposes related to water. The city water shortage should be solved by the completion of the much plagued Melamchi Water Supply Project by the end of 2019. Despite continued efforts by governmental bodies, Kathmandu is the one of the most polluted cities in Nepal, largely due to overpopulation.


title: Kathmandu

text: Waste management may be through composting in municipal waste management units, and at houses with home composting units. Both systems are common and established in India and neighbouring countries.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu's urban cosmopolitan character has made it the most populous city in Nepal. According to the National Population Census of 2011, the total population of Kathmandu city was 975,543 in 254,292 households with an annual growth rate of 6.12% with respect to the population figure of 2001. 70% of the total population residing in Kathmandu are aged between 15 and 59.


title: Kathmandu

text: In one decade, the population increased from 427,045 in 1991 to 671,805 in 2001. The population was projected to reach 915,071 in 2011 and 1,319,597 by 2021. To keep up this population growth, the KMC-controlled area of expanded to in 2001. With this new area, the population density which was 85 in 1991 remained 85 in 2001; it is likely to jump to 111 in 2011 and 161 in 2021.


title: Kathmandu

text: As of the 2011 census, Nepali is the most common mother tongue in Kathmandu, with 62% of the population speaking it as their mother tongue. Newar is spoken by 19%, and the other languages spoken in the city include Tamang (6%), Maithili (3%), Hindi (2%), Bhojpuri (2%), Gurung (2%), Magar (2%) and Sherpa (1%) as their first language. English is also spoken by many.


title: Kathmandu

text: The largest ethnic group is the native Newars, whose various caste groups combined have a population of 24.7%. Almost equal in population is the Bahuns with 24.5%, while the Chhetri population is 18%. Other groups in Kathmandu include the Janajatis, including the Tamang (7.8%), Magar (3.8%), Gurung (2.6%), Rai (2.1%) and Muslim (1.8%). More recently, other hill ethnic groups and caste groups from Terai have come to represent a substantial proportion of the city's population, and there are around 12,000 Marwadis, mainly merchants.


title: Kathmandu

text: The ancient trade route between India and Tibet that passed through Kathmandu enabled a fusion of artistic and architectural traditions from other cultures to be amalgamated with local art and architecture. The monuments of Kathmandu City have been influenced over the centuries by Hindu and Buddhist religious practices. The architectural treasure of the Kathmandu valley has been categorized under the well-known seven groups of heritage monuments and buildings. In 2006 UNESCO declared these seven groups of monuments as a World Heritage Site (WHS). The seven monuments zones cover an area of , with the buffer zone extending to . The Seven Monument Zones inscribed originally in 1979 and with a minor modification in 2006 are the Durbar squares of Hanuman Dhoka, Patan and Bhaktapur, the Hindu temples of Pashupatinath and Changunarayan, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhunath and Boudhanath.


title: Kathmandu

text: The literal meaning of Durbar Square is a "place of palaces". There are three preserved Durbar Squares in Kathmandu valley and one unpreserved in Kirtipur. The Durbar Square of Kathmandu is in the old city and has heritage buildings representing four kingdoms (Kantipur, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kirtipur); the earliest being the Licchavi dynasty. The complex has 50 temples and is distributed in two quadrangles of the Durbar Square. The outer quadrangle has the Kasthamandap, Kumari Ghar, and Shiva-Parvati Temple; the inner quadrangle has the Hanuman Dhoka palace. The squares were severely damaged in the April 2015 earthquake.


title: Kathmandu

text: Hanuman Dhoka is a complex of structures with the royal palace of the Malla kings and of the Shah dynasty. It is spread over five acres. The eastern wing, with ten courtyards, is the oldest part, dating to the mid-16th century. It was expanded by King Pratap Malla in the 17th century with many temples. The royal family lived in this palace until 1886 when they moved to Narayanhiti Palace. The stone inscription outside is in fifteen languages.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kumari Ghar is a palace in the centre of the Kathmandu city, next to the Durbar square where a royal Kumari selected from several Kumaris resides. Kumari, or Kumari Devi, is the tradition of worshipping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy or "devi" in South Asian countries. In Nepal the selection process is very rigorous. Previously, during the time of the monarchy, the queen and the priests used to appoint the proposed Kumari with delicate process of astrological examination and physical examination of 32 'gunas'. The "china" (), an ancient Hindu astrological report, of the Kumari and the reigning king, was ought to be similar. The Kumari is believed to be a bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju (the Nepali name for Durga) until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury also causes her to revert to common status. The current Kumari, Trishna Shakya, age three at the time of appointment, was installed in September 2017 succeeding Matina Shakya who was the first Kumari of Kathmandu after the end of the monarchy.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kasthamandap is a three-storeyed temple enshrining an image of Gorakhnath. It was built in the 16th century in pagoda style. The name of Kathmandu is a derivative of the word "Kasthamandap". It was built under the reign of King Laxmi Narsingha Malla. Kasthamandap stands at the intersection of two ancient trade routes linking India and Tibet at Maru square. It was originally built as a rest house for travellers.


title: Kathmandu

text: The Pashupatinath Temple () is a famous 5th century Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Located on the banks of the Bagmati River, the Pashupatinath Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu. It served as the seat of national deity, Lord Pashupatinath, until Nepal was secularized. However, a significant part of the temple was destroyed by Mughal invaders in the 14th century and little or nothing remains of the original 5th-century temple exterior. The temple as it stands today was built in the 19th century, although the image of the bull and the black four-headed image of Pashupati are at least 300 years old. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Shivaratri, or the night of Lord Shiva, is the most important festival that takes place here, attracting thousands of devotees and sadhus.


title: Kathmandu

text: Believers in Pashupatinath (mainly Hindus) are allowed to enter the temple premises, but non-Hindu visitors are allowed to view the temple only from the across the Bagmati River. The priests who perform the services at this temple have been Brahmins from Karnataka in southern India since the time of Malla king Yaksha Malla. This tradition is believed to have been started at the request of Adi Shankaracharya who sought to unify the states of Bharatam, a region in south Asia believed to be ruled by a mythological king Bharat, by encouraging cultural exchange. This procedure is followed in other temples around India, which were sanctified by Adi Shankaracharya.


title: Kathmandu

text: The temple is built in the pagoda style of architecture, with cubic constructions and carved wooden rafters (tundal) on which they rest, and two-level roofs made of copper and gold.


title: Kathmandu

text: Boudhanath (; also written as "Bouddhanath", "Bodhnath", "Baudhanath" or the "Khāsa" "Chaitya"), is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal, along with the Swayambhunath. It is a very popular tourist site. Boudhanath is known as Khāsti by Newars and as Bauddha or Bodhnāth by speakers of Nepali. About from the centre and northeastern outskirts of Kathmandu, the stupa's massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal. Boudhanath became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.


title: Kathmandu

text: The base of the stupa has 108 small depictions of the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha. It is surrounded with a brick wall with 147 niches, each with four or five prayer wheels engraved with the mantra, "om mani padme hum". At the northern entrance where visitors must pass is a shrine dedicated to Ajima, the goddess of smallpox. Every year the stupa attracts many Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims who perform full body prostrations in the inner lower enclosure, walk around the stupa with prayer wheels, chant, and pray. Thousands of prayer flags are hoisted up from the top of the stupa downwards and dot the perimeter of the complex. The influx of many Tibetan refugees from China has seen the construction of over 50 Tibetan gompas (monasteries) around Boudhanath.


title: Kathmandu

text: Swayambhunath () is a Buddhist stupa atop a hillock at the northwestern part of the city. This is among the oldest religious sites in Nepal. Although the site is considered Buddhist, it is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. The stupa consists of a dome at the base; above the dome, there is a cubic structure with the eyes of Buddha looking in all four directions. There are pentagonal "toran" above each of the four sides, with statues engraved on them. Behind and above the torana there are thirteen tiers. Above all the tiers, there is a small space above which lies a "gajur".


title: Kathmandu

text: Ranipokhari () is a historic artificial pond nestled in the heart of Kathmandu. It was built by king Pratap Malla in 1670 AD for his beloved queen after she lost her son and could not recover from her loss. A large stone statue of an elephant in the south signifies the image of Pratap Malla and his two sons. Balgopaleshwor Temple stands still inside the temple above the pond. Rani Pokhari is opened once a year during the final day of Tihar i.e. Bhai Tika and Chhath festival. The world's largest Chhath takes place every year in Ranipokhari. The pond is one of Kathmandu's most famous landmarks and is known for its religious and aesthetic significance.However, Ranipokhari is now under development, which began in 2019 and is expected to be finished next year, according to reports.


title: Kathmandu

text: Kathmandu valley the City of Newars is described as "an enormous treasure house of art and sculptures", which are made of wood, stone, metal, and terracotta, and found in profusion in temples, shrines, stupas, gompas, chaityas and palaces. The art objects are also seen in street corners, lanes, private courtyards and in open ground. Most art is in the form of icons of gods and goddesses. Kathmandu valley has had this art treasure for a very long time, but received worldwide recognition only after the country opened to the outside world in 1950.


title: Kathmandu

text: The religious art of Nepal and Kathmandu in particular consists of an iconic symbolism of the Mother Goddesses such as: Bhavani, Durga, Gaja-Lakshmi, Hariti-Sitala, Mahsishamardini, Saptamatrika (seven mother goddesses), and Sri-Lakshmi (wealth-goddess). From the 3rd century BCE, apart from the Hindu gods and goddesses, Buddhist monuments from the Ashokan period (it is said that Ashoka visited Nepal in 250 BC) have embellished Nepal in general and the valley in particular. These art and architectural edifices encompass three major periods of evolution: the Licchavi or classical period (500 to 900 AD), the post-classical period (1000 to 1400 AD), with strong influence of the Palla art form; the Malla period (1400 onwards) that exhibited explicitly tantric influences coupled with the art of Tibetan Demonology.


title: Kathmandu

text: A broad typology has been ascribed to the decorative designs and carvings created by the people of Nepal. These artists have maintained a blend of Hinduism and Buddhism. The typology, based on the type of material used are: stone art, metal art, wood art, terracotta art, and painting.