Synopsis
Close to the end of the Pacific War, female high school students are mobilized to work for military camps during the Battle of Okinawa. They wear the badge of the cherry tree and white lily on their chest and are called \"the Himeyuri unit\", which means \'lily princess\'.

Program Note
In 1945, with the spirit of defeat cast over Japan before the US Army landed on Okinawa, the country mobilizes even high school
 girls for the war. These girls attend to their duties in the middle of the battlefield, from transporting ammunition to nursing the
 injured soldiers and cooking. They are all killed during the war, either in air raids or by throwing themselves into the ocean to avoid
 flying bullets. Himeyuri, meaning ‘Lily Princess,’ was a name that originated from the fact that the girls were made to wear lily
 badges. After the war, Monument of Star Lilies was built in Okinawa to remember these girls.

 The Battle of Okinawa and Himeyuri Corps are integral parts of the Pacific War between Japan and the US. At the same time, they
 represent the dynamics of the conflict between Japan and the Japanese internal colony of Okinawa, Okinawa’s eventual integration
 with Japan, the political relationship within Japan, and gender issues arising from national homogenization after the war. Directed
 by IMAI Tadashi, known for his distinctive leftist humanistic style, Monument of Star Lilies assumes an ambivalent attitude
 between criticisms of Japanese militarism and the desire to rebuild the nation, and also between atonement for the actions taken
 against Okinawan women and the othering of the women.

 KAGAWA Kyoko has frequently mentioned that she began to ponder upon the social role of actors after she starred in Monument
 of Star Lilies, and that it was a turning point in her acting career. Even now, she consistently participates in memorial events and
 projects related to Himeyuri. [HWANG Miyojo]