This year, for AMICUS Junior High School Performance Day, our students will perform a musical titled “Gate Side Story,” inspired by West Side Story.

The story is set around 1972, before Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, on Gate Street in Koza City, now Okinawa City. Gate Street led to Kadena Air Base and was a very lively street at that time. At the same time, memories of the war still remained deeply in people’s hearts, and many different feelings crossed through people’s daily lives.

Against this historical background, an Okinawan woman and an American soldier meet and gradually open their hearts to each other. In the story, a traffic accident leads to a scene where people’s anger and sadness overflow. However, what this musical truly tries to convey is not conflict or hatred.

What we would like to focus on is the importance of people meeting one another, getting to know each other, and trying to understand each other. Beyond nationality, position, and painful memories of the past, love and friendship can connect people’s hearts. This story quietly speaks to us about that hope.

Because AMICUS is a school where students from diverse backgrounds learn together, I believe the message of this musical has special meaning. I hope our students will reflect on Okinawa’s history and feel the importance of trying to understand others rather than hating them.

Through their songs, acting, facial expressions, and their own hearts, I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of message our students will deliver.

We sincerely look forward to welcoming all parents and guardians to the performance.

Ken Oshiro, Headmaster