The exhibition “Warsaw. A Phoenix from the Ashes,” prepared by the Warsaw Rising Museum, was opened on 29 September 2026 at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum. This is already the eighth presentation of the exhibition in Japan. Its tour has now lasted three years and has been seen by nearly 17,000 Japanese visitors.
The exhibition introduces Japanese audiences to the history of the Warsaw Rising, the destruction of the Polish capital, and its postwar reconstruction. It has previously been shown in Hiroshima, Osaka, Sapporo, Tsuruga, Tokyo, Yokohama, and Nagasaki; Okinawa is the next stop on its Japanese itinerary.
The opening ceremony was attended by Hiroaki Tokumoto, Deputy Mayor of Itoman; Marta Stachowiak, Director of the Polish Institute in Tokyo; and Jan Ołdakowski, Director of the Warsaw Rising Museum. After the official inauguration, guests also watched the film Warsaw Rising, directed by Jan Komasa.
Okinawa, one of the islands most affected by the Second World War, is hosting an exhibition devoted to the Warsaw Rising. Although nearly nine thousand kilometers separate them, the histories of Okinawa and Warsaw are bound by a shared experience of wartime catastrophe, enormous civilian losses, and a long path of reconstruction.
In 1945, Okinawa became the scene of one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific. Fighting that lasted nearly three months led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and island residents, and a large part of its buildings was destroyed. Like Warsaw after 1944, Okinawa had to confront the dramatic consequences of war and rebuild from scratch.
That is why the exhibition on the history of the Warsaw Rising is being presented at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum - an institution whose mission is to commemorate the victims of armed conflicts and to promote dialogue, empathy, and solidarity among nations.
The exhibition recalls that, despite the geographical distance, the people of Poland and Japan are united by the memory of the tragic fate of civilians and by the conviction that the experience of war should form the foundation of efforts for peace and reconciliation.
The exhibition can be viewed until 30 November 2026. Admission is free.
Organisers:
Warsaw Rising Museum
Capital City of Warsaw
Co-organiser:
Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum
Partners:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Polish Institute in Tokyo
Museum Patron: PZU
Museum Strategic Partner: PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna
Museum Partner: PZU Foundation
Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage under the programme Inspiring Culture 2026–2027.
