滝本 匠 
June 23, 2022 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Masatoshi Inafuku
Next to the Cornerstone of Peace, on which the names of those who died in the Battle of Okinawa are inscribed, there is a stone monument engraved with the words "Life is a Treasure". The stone monument was not established through governmental efforts, but was rather established in June 2013 through the efforts of Emi Ishihara, 80, a private citizen from Urasoe City. Speaking about the current circumstances in which world peace is threatened, such as through the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Ishihara said, "At this time I would like spread the golden words (kugani kutuba; adages particular to Okinawa) of Okinawa to the world".
Ishihara set her mind to building this stone monument next to the Cornerstone of Peace and applied for the establishment of the stone monument. The Okinawa Prefectural Government initially rejected her application. She refused to give up, visiting various municipalities throughout Okinawa and the assemblies thereof, and, in the end, the government of Itoman City, where Peace Memorial Park is located, cooperated with Ishihara on her goal. In addition, she established the Life is a Treasure Stone Monument Building Executive Committee to which experts added their names, and private citizens spearheaded the efforts to build this stone monument.
Text including the wording "Our most precious treasure is life" has been engraved in English, Hangul, and Chinese on the back of the stone monument. Ishihara recently made the resolution: "I will also make efforts toward the abolition of nuclear weaponry for the sake of realizing world peace".
(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)
